So Damn Beautiful
by Mrs O-Town
Summary: Set after TTITKB 2x09 Brooke turns to Lucas in her hour of need. Brucas. Minor Naley. COMPLETED
1. Comfort

Title: **So Damn Beautiful**

**Author: **Tejal (mrsotown)

**Rating: **PG-13

**Spoilers:** Up to and set after 'The Trick Is To Keep Breathing' (2x09) 

**Summary: **In her hour of need, Brooke turns to Lucas for help. Brucas.

**Author's Notes: **This is my first fic in a couple of years and my first One Tree Hill fic. I hope you like it. 

* * *

Lucas waited patiently outside the door to the gym. The semi-formal had ended on a high that weekend and he was looking forward to seeing Brooke again. He'd left her with a promise to be friends the morning after the dance and he was looking forward to seeing it through. Especially after everything they had been through the last few months.

Though his interest in them wasn't romantic, he had been hoping to make amends with Brooke and Peyton for some time and it had started to look up. His friendship with Peyton had been relatively easy to rebuild, especially as she seemed to have something more important on her mind that being mad at him. However, Brooke had been more difficult. After all, she had been the one who had been most hurt.

News of Brooke and Peyton's redefined friendship had pleased Lucas, but he knew the wrath of both was too much to bear. Though bridges had started being built after Lucas returned from Charleston and requested their help in throwing Nathan and Haley a party, he knew that the area was still tentative for them all.

That night, at the formal, he had been surprised to see Brooke alone on the beach. He'd be hesitant to approach her at first, but seeing no sign of Felix, and the loneliness that had marred her face, made him think otherwise.

To his surprise, she had opened up to him for the first time in months. At breakfast, she told him about Felix, Mouth and how tired she was of having nothing. Lucas listened intently, unaware of how she'd been feeling all this time. Brooke seemed genuinely grateful for his company, and when he'd dropped her off at her house, she'd promised him the notion of friends (without the benefits). And Lucas was hoping she wouldn't go back on her word.

He stood up straight when he heard the cheer squad's voices echoing down the corridor. He waited the brief half -minute until the doors opened and they flooded out, gossiping and idly chatting away.

Lucas scanned the crowd for their leader, but couldn't see her anywhere. Peyton noticed him standing there and came up to him.

"Waiting for someone? Or do you just like perving at all the cheerleaders?" she teased.

"Hey Peyton. I was actually looking for Brooke. Is she here?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah. She was being her usual Cheer-Nazi self. I'm guessing Felix must have pissed her off at the formal or something. Speaking of which, I heard you broke up with Anna." Peyton crossed her arms over her chest and looked at her former-boyfriend quizzically.

"We didn't break up. We just… well, I just want to take things slower than she does." Lucas explained. Peyton wasn't wholly convinced but accepted his explanation.

"Okay, well, she was kind of upset so you might want to talk to her about that."

"Thanks Peyton. I'll go look for Brooke," Lucas excused himself, "she's in the gym, right?"

"She should be."

"I'll see you later." Lucas said as he entered the Whitey Durham Building on his search for Brooke. Peyton watched him leave, wondering why he was so anxious to speak to Brooke.

Lucas walked into the gym, spying Brooke in the far corner packing up her stuff.

"Hey Brooke!" he called. She jumped at the greeting holding her hand to her chest.

"Jeez, Broody. You scared me," she said, "Sorry, you just missed the cheerleaders."

"Actually, you're the one I was looking for." Lucas told her as she came nearer to Brooke.

"Me? Why?" she asked, not looking at him.

"I just… after the formal, you said that we should be friends, and I wasn't sure-"

"You want to know if I meant it?" Brooke questioned. Lucas nodded slowly. "Of course I mean it. I wouldn't have said it otherwise." Lucas grinned.

"In that case, can I take you out for a meal or something? Just as friends?" he asked. He noted the obvious hesitation in her face. "Unless you don't want to"

"Oh no, I do. Lucas, I do. I just have plans with Felix and I'm not sure he'll appreciate me going out with my ex."

"It's just as friends, Brooke. He should understand that."

"I know – but things between Felix and me are kind of… y'know? We had that fight at the formal and it took me forever to forgive him for lying to me."

"So, you're back together?"

"We're dating. Kind of...." Brooke admitted.

"Oh, well, does he want to tag along? It's only a meal. Maybe we could go out to the mall?" Lucas suggested.

"Lucas, I know you don't like Felix. And he doesn't like you and I'd rather not be stuck in the middle of all that. Maybe tomorrow?" Brooke promised

"Sure." Lucas agreed. Brooke nodded, grabbing her bag and putting it on her shoulder. She winced in pain. "You alright?" Lucas asked in concern

"I'm fine." She snapped back. Lucas looked at her, knowing full well that she wasn't.

"Let me check out your shoulder."

"Lucas…don't worry about it. It's just a bruise." He ignored her protests and lifted up the sleeve of her shirt, exposing a large purple-tinted bruise.

"Whoa, Brooke. How did you get that?" he asked her. She pulled down her sleeve quickly.

"Cheerleading. We were practicing the pyramid; one of the girls must have eaten way too many donuts this month." Brooke told him, looking at the floor.

"Aren't you usually at the top of the pyramid?" Lucas questioned, his eyes narrowing. Brooke looked at him with equally narrow eyes.

"Leave it." She warned him.

"Brooke, what's-"

"Brooke!" a voice startled them both. Felix stood with his arms across his chest, looking less than pleased. "Are you ready?" he asked, eying the two. Brooke picked up her bag and uncomfortably shifted her gaze from Lucas to the floor. Lucas looked at Felix; angry at how he'd come in and interrupted their conversation. More than that Lucas was angry at how Brooke could just let him talk to her like that.

No-one spoke as Brooke waked past Lucas and followed her boyfriend out of the gym, leaving Lucas alone in the gym knowing that any friendship between them was next to impossible.

* * *

Lucas spent the next day looking for Brooke to try and talk to her. He wanted to make sure that she was happy, as what he'd seen in the gym didn't seem to show that. By lunch, he hadn't been able to find her and no-one he'd asked had seen her either.

He decided to go down to the river court and practise during lunch. Upon arrival, he noticed Brooke's sky blue Beetle near the court. When he went to inspect the car for any signs of Brooke, he was disappointed to find it empty. Lucas was about to go back to the court when he noticed a figure out of the corner of his eye sitting under a tree.

"Brooke?" he questioned as he approached her. Brooke looked up at him and hastily wiped away the tears that had been flowing down her cheeks. It was then when Lucas noticed the bruise on her eye. "What's the matter? What happened to your eye?" he crouched down next to her.

"Nothing Lucas. Just… just leave me alone"

"Brooke? Who hit you?" Lucas asked, indicating that he wasn't going to heave her alone.

"Lucas, please…" she pleaded.

"Was it Felix?" Brooke refused to answer. "I'll take that as a yes. He's hitting you."

"Lucas, leave it!" she told him.

"I can't believe this! How dare he… when did this happen?"

"I don't know… about an hour ago? It's no big deal really." Brooke wiped away more tears.

"That bruise yesterday. The one on your shoulder. They weren't from cheerleading, were they?" it wasn't a question. Lucas already knew the answer. "He's hit you before. How long as this been going on?"

"It's none of your business, Lucas!" Brooke almost yelled. She was tired, sore and just wanted to go to sleep. "It was just a couple of times, he really didn't mean it."

I don't believe this, Brooke. You just let him hit you and get away with it? Are you still together?"

"He didn't mean it. He apolo-"

"Oh, come on, Brooke! He's going to keep hitting you if you don't walk away from it. You know what? You don't even have to do anything, I'm going to go over her myself…" Lucas stood up and began to walk away. Brooke grabbed his arm.

"No, Lucas. Don't make things worse." She begged him.

"Why are you even with him? Do you love him?" Brooke stayed silent. "Okay, so what is it? The sex? He's using you as a punching bag. You don't have to stand for it. You can have any guy!"

"You have no idea-"

"This isn't the Brooke Davis I know. The Brooke Davis that I know would beat up anybody who even tried to lay a hand on her."

"You don't know me, Lucas. Not anymore." She snapped.

"How can you just sit there and let him do this to you?" Lucas asked, lowering his voice.

"Just stop it, Lucas! Please! I can't leave him. I can't... I don't want to make a big deal out of this."

"It is a big deal. You deserve better than this!"

"Who? You? Last time I trusted you - I got my heart broken." She didn't want to bring up Lucas' betrayal, but she was angry and Lucas wasn't helping her.

"So this is how you're punishing me?" Lucas questioned. Brooke turned to face him, pointing her finger at him.

"Punishing _you_? This has nothing to do with _you_. This is me and Felix and our problems. I don't want you involved or butting in!"

"It's too late. I'm already involved and I am not standing by and watching you get hurt."

"It's a black eye, Lucas! It'll heal."

"Okay, fine. A black eye today. What's next? A broken rib tomorrow? How about a head injury next week? Maybe next month you'll end up in the hospital! This is how these things go, Brooke. Open your eyes." He told her. She looked away.

"He'll stop." She said quietly.

"Hell he will," Lucas said. Brooke started walking away from him, "Where are you going?"

"Home. The Mall. Anywhere away from you." She shot back taking out her car keys.

"You are not going back to him."

"Lucas..."

"I'm serious, Brooke. You're coming with me and you're going to stay there until we can get him locked up."

"Stop it, Lucas. He won't do it again and if he does, then I'll deal with it myself. If you want to be a concerned friend, then leave me alone and just let me make my own decisions, okay?" Brooke didn't let him reply but instead she got into her car and drove off.

* * *

"Hey, Brooke… it's Lucas again. I just wanted to apologise for this afternoon. Um… call me when you get this message, okay?" Lucas hung up the phone and waited a few seconds, before dialling another number. It picked up on its fourth ring.

"Peyton?"

"Hey Lucas, what's up?" Peyton asked on the other end.

"I was looking for Brooke. Is she with you?"

"Uh… no. She wasn't in school today. What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's just something I need to sort out with her. Do you know where she could be?"

"Well, if she's happy, she'd be at the Mall. If she's angry, she'd be at the mall. If she's sad, then the Mall and if she's just bored… I'd go with the Mall." Peyton chuckled.

"Thanks Peyton. I'm going to head out there now."

"If Brooke calls, I'll let her know you called." Peyton promised. Lucas thanked her again and hung up.

He was just about to get his coat when the doorbell rang. Lucas opened the door, thinking it was his mom or Keith, he was surprised to see Brooke standing on his porch, soaking wet from the rain. Her mascara was running from a mix of tears and the rain and she was shivering.

"Brooke-" he began, not knowing what to say.

"You were right. He did it again," she told him as she burst into another bout of tears.

"You're not going back there, are you?" Lucas asked worried that she'd ignore him again. She shook her head emphatically.

"No. Can I stay with you tonight?" she bit her lip, hoping Lucas wasn't still angry with her after this afternoon.

"Of course," Lucas realised that she was still out in the rain. "Come on in. I'll... I'll just get you some dry clothes and then you can tell me what happened?" she nodded and watched as he walked into his room. Brooke looked around the house.

"Is your mom here?" she asked as she waiting for Lucas to return.

"No, she's still at the cafe. Did you want to talk to her?" Lucas handed her some sweatpants and a sweatshirt.

"Oh no. I just wondered. I don't want anyone to know," she told him, hoping he'd kept it a secret.

"Well that bleeding lip might give it away." He told her. She immediately went to touch it and winced in pain.

"Yeah, well I can't help that," she said quietly, "Do you have anywhere I can change?""You can change in the bathroom. I'll put all the wet stuff in the dryer." Brooke nodded as she walked slowly in the direction of the bathroom.

"Thanks Lucas." She told him as she stood on the threshold of the bathroom. He gave her a nod.

"No problem."

Five minutes later, Brooke emerged from the bathroom. She handed Lucas the pile of wet clothes and watched as he put them in the dryer. After he switched it on, he led Brooke to the couch.

"What happened?" he began, knowing that if he could get Brooke to talk, then they'd be able to sort out her problem. Brooke sighed.

"Um... well, I went to the Mall and he got mad because, apparently, he'd already made reservations at some restaurant, which we missed because I was buying a pair of shoes. Which, by the way, got ruined in the rain" she pointed at the muddy shoes that lay near the coat rack.

"He's an idiot, Brooke."

"Yeah well, I just figured that one out. More fool me, huh?" he gave him a tight smile before sighing again.

"It's not your fault." Lucas reassured the brunette. She didn't seem convinced.

"It doesn't seem that way. It's always me who pisses him off enough to just explode," she examined her nails. "I bet he doesn't treat Anna like this."

"Maybe we should get the police to-" Lucas suggested. Brooke looked up and shook her head.

"No, Lucas. I don't want anyone else involved."

"He needs to be locked up."

"Not yet, alright? Soon" she told him. Brooke was scared of what Felix could do to her or Lucas or anyone if he got in trouble.

"Where is he?"

"At his house probably. He knows I'm here, Lucas. I just left but I'm sure he can figure it out. If he-" Lucas cut her off of lifting her chin up with his finger and forcing her to look at him.

"We'll work it out when the time comes, and I'll keep you safe," he promised. "Have you got your phone with you?" she nodded and fished it out of her bag.

"Yeah. He keeps calling but I reject his calls. There is no way in hell I'm going to talk to him."

"Good girl." He gave her a wry smile.

The was a brief pause before Brooke began talking again, "Lucas... I'm sorry for before. When I told you that you didn't know me and that it was your fault and I wouldn't listen-"

"Brooke, forget it. You're here now. You're safe. That's all that matters."

"I'm so stupid."

"No, you're not. You're a good person who just got into trouble because of some jerk. What you did, by coming here, that was brave. Not many people can walk away easily."

"That's because I have good friends, Lucas." She teasingly gave him a friendly punch in the arm and her recoiled in mock pain.

Just then, they were interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and Karen's voice echoing through the hall.

"Lucas, what have I told you about leaving the door- Brooke." She stopped short when she saw the brunette accompanying her son on the couch in his clothes.

"Hi, Karen." She gave an unusually shy wave as she tried smiling at Miss Roe, but her cut lip made it difficult to do so. Karen found it hard not to stare at the usually flawless Brooke.

"What happened to your-" she began before noticing Lucas shaking his head behind Brooke. "You know, what, it's none of my business. I'm just going to put these groceries away. Lucas, will you help me?" she said moving into the kitchen.

"Sure," Brooke looked at Lucas and he gave her a small smile. "Be right back," he told her as he followed his mother.

"Hey, mom. Sorry about that," he apologised as he began unloading the groceries. Karen

"What happened to Brooke?" she asked, keeping her voice low. Lucas sighed. He never kept anything major from his mother and he knew that whatever he told her would be kept secret. Plus, he figured that Brooke could talk to Karen if there was anything she needed to talk to a woman about.

"Felix hit her over the weekend. She turned up about thirty minutes ago after he did it again." He explained.

"Poor Brooke." Karen said sympathetically. Though only a woman of thirty-five, she'd seen a lot in her life but never would have thought things like this went on in Tree Hill – especially to a teenage girl. Lucas eyed his mother and hesitated before asking,

"Is it okay if she stays the night? She doesn't want to go home because Felix lives next door an-" he hastily explained. Karen nodded almost as soon as her son suggested it.

"Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way. Her parents?"

"They don't know. They're away again. Also, she doesn't want anyone else to know so if you could-" Karen nodded again.

"My lips are sealed. Make sure you tell her that if she needs to talk to a woman, I'm here, okay?" she tenderly touched her son's arm reassuringly. "I'm proud of you, Luke," she told him.

"Yeah. Thanks mom." He gave her a smile as he put the milk in the fridge.

"No problem. Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes, make sure you tell her that" She gave her son a kiss on his cheek and he immediately began wiping it off as he went back to Brooke in the living room.

"Hey. Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes." Lucas said to Brooke, who was looking through the photos on the mantelpiece. She looked up at him.

"Okay. So, I guess your mom knows?" she raised an eyebrow at him. He looked down at the ground sheepishly, stuffing his hands inside the pocket of his jeans.

"Uh, yeah, I had to tell her."

"That's fine. I like her." Brooke reassured him as she went to sit down on the couch.

"She also told me to tell you that if you ever wanted to talk to her, about anything, then she's always here," Lucas sat down next to Brooke and watched as she nodded slowly.

"Thanks," she sighed. "Can we… I don't know, watch TV or something? I'm not entirely comfortable just sitting here. Let's do something friends would do and start forgetting this whole mess." She asked. Lucas smiled and passed her the remote control.

"Whatever you want to do, friend. The TV is all yours," Brooke smiled slightly as she flicked through channels.

Lucas found he spent less time watching the latest fashion news, and more time staring at Brooke. He watched as she would sometimes lick her lip or gently touch her shoulder before wincing in pain. He couldn't believe someone would do this to her, or anybody for that matter. And worst of all, Brooke had done nothing to deserve it.

Out of the corner of her eye, Brooke could feel Lucas' gaze on her. It reminded her of the days when they were dating and he'd spend most of the time just staring at her. Sometimes it felt creepy and uncomfortable, but at other times, it'd make her happy that she was so interesting to him. This time, she didn't know what it felt like. She wasn't sure if he was staring at her injuries, which self-consciously made her lick her unhealed lip. She hated the taste of blood and the coppery taste made her want to gag. But there was also a part of her who was glad he was looking at her like he used to. Though Lucas had hurt her badly, he was the only one who she'd go to or want to be with at a time like this. Lucas was rational, calm and genuinely cared about her. Even after the way she'd treated him.

Brooke met his gaze and struggled to give him one of her patented broad grins. Instead, she gave him a small one. He returned it and she felt comfortable enough to rest her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Lucas." She told him once again.

"No problem," he whispered back, kissing the top of her head.

Although they were both pleased to be in each other's company, the circumstances they were in told them that the battle for their friendship was far from over.

**To Be Continued…**


	2. Adjusting

Author's Note: **Thank you to all of those who reviewed last time. You really made my day and helped me pump out this chapter. I hope you enjoy this as much as the last chapter. It kind of took an unexpected turn at the end so that's something I'm going to have to think about continuing. **

**Chapter 2: Adjusting**

Lucas couldn't sleep. Though he was tired and exhausted, knowing Brooke was sleeping alone in his room kept him awake. He was still in disbelief that anybody could treat her like that and marvelled at the strength inside her.

He was genuinely worried about her. One thing he knew about Brooke Davis was that no matter how bitchy and strong she seemed on the inside, she was fragile and needed just as much support as other people.

Lucas tossed onto his side; at least Brooke wanted his help instead of shutting him out. He only wished it had been under different circumstances.

Loud knocking on the door and repeated doorbell rings caused Lucas to lose his balance on the couch and fall off, hitting his elbow on the coffee table.

"LUCAS!" someone yelled through the letterbox.It was followed by more knocking and doorbell rings. Lucas lifted himself off the floor and sighed, rubbing his elbow as he went to open the door.

"Felix, what are you doing here?" Lucas asked, his jaw tightening in anger at the man in front of him.

"Where is she?" Felix peered over Lucas' shoulder in order to get a better view of the house.

"Who?" Lucas played dumb, one hand holding the door, and the other making a fist, ready to strike.

"Brooke!" Felix cried. Lucas gritted his teeth in an attempt to refrain himself. He realised that punching Felix was not going to help Brooke and so swallowed his pride.

"Uh... have you tried her cell?" Lucas tried his best to 'help' Felix. Felix gave him a look.

"She's not answering. Look, I know she's here. She seems to be holding some sort of torch for you and I have no idea why, considering you're a cheating ass." Felix hit back, knowing full well it would irk Lucas.

It worked and Lucas shook his head.

"You know nothing about me and Brooke." Lucas told him.

"I know enough." Felix smirked.

"Is that why you be-" Lucas was about to step forward, but a hand stopped him from going any further.

"Lucas? What's going on?" his mother asked looking between the two men.

"I'm looking for Brooke. He's hiding her," Felix looked at Lucas accusingly.

"You're Felix, right?" Felix nodded in response, "I'm not sure what's gone on between you and Brooke, but she's not here. And I know that making a nuisance of yourself at 1.30 in the morning is certainly not going to help." Karen told Felix. Lucas smiled at Felix.

"Do you know where she could be?" Felix asked, not preparing to give up.

"She's probably at home asleep, like you should be at this time of night. Why don't you go on home and look for her in the morning. If she's avoiding you, then I guess she doesn't want to be found." Karen told him pointedly. She raised an eyebrow to show that she was serious.

"Okay, fine. But if I find out you're hiding her..." Felix began, focusing on Lucas again.

"I'm his mother. I'd know if there was a teenage girl in my house. Now I suggest you leave and get home before I call the police" Karen told him. Lucas couldn't help but give Felix a satisfied grin as he watched him retreat into his car and drive off.

Karen shut the door and sighed, "Honestly, you'd think some people could get some sleep around here" she smiled.

"Wow, mom. I never knew you had it in you. Thanks for protecting Brooke like that." Lucas said gratefully.

"No problem. You should get back to bed," Karen told her son, "You have school tomorrow."

"I'm just going to check on Brooke." Lucas informed her, Karen nodded, pleased that her son was taking responsibility for the wellbeing of a friend.

"Okay. Goodnight." She kissed him on the cheek and went back to bed, yawning as she did. Lucas waited until his mother had shut her bedroom door before wondering down the hall and gently knocking on his door.

There was no reply, just muted sobbing and hitched breaths that told Lucas Brooke knew Felix had visited.

"Brooke? Are you okay?" Lucas whispered as he entered. He sat down on the bed making out the silhouette of the girl from the dull moonlight that shone through the window. Brooke sniffed.

"I'm sorry. I just... I freaked out. I was scared he'd find me and then..." she raised a hand to cover her face.

"Shhh... it is okay," Lucas reassured, pulling down her hand, "He's gone, Brooke. I'm not going to let him hurt you." Brooke nodded slowly. "You okay now?" she nodded again and Lucas planted a small kiss on the top of her forehead. "You better get some sleep now," he told her, gently pulling the covers up to her chin.

Lucas got up off the bed and began to walk away until he heard Brooke's voice, heavy with tears, ask him "can you stay with me tonight, Lucas? I don't want to be left alone."

Lucas didn't need to think twice. Brooke was clearly still shaken from the encounter with Felix and the last thing he wanted was to leave her alone.

"Sure," he agreed as he climbed in next to Brooke. She shifted her body to accommodate him before taking his hand, pulling it across her body and holding it as she turned to sleep.

Lucas stared at her back for the longest time. As she was wearing a tank top, he could see the dark area of skin where her bruise lay. He moved closer to her and listened to the soft sounds of her sobs that gradually subsided with the presence of the man next to her.

* * *

Lucas stirred in the bed upon hearing a hushed "Psst... Lucas!" He frowned and slowly opened up his eyes, spying his mother at the door of his room, "come here!" she motioned in a whisper.

Lucas looked down at the woman next to him, still holding onto his arm. Reluctantly he pried it away and got out of bed, rubbing his eyes as he approached his mother."Good morning. How is she?" Karen asked, her first concern being Brooke, who was still sleeping soundly in Lucas' bed. Lucas looked at Brooke before answering.

"Oh, she didn't want to be left alone so I bunked with her last night," he said, hoping his mother would accept his excuse. He knew that since Brooke's pregnancy scare last year, Karen was wary of Lucas staying out all night or bringing girls home. To his relief, Karen just smiled and nodded.

"That's fine. Um... it's a school day and so I was wondering what the Brooke situation was," Karen questioned. She glanced at Brooke, who was starting to stir awake at the sound of their conversation. Lucas shut the door gently and continued the conversation in the hallway.

"I don't think she'd want to go to school. I only have a few classes with her and I don't think she wants everyone to know, yet. Plus, Felix will be there and I can't protect her from him," Lucas said. His mother nodded in agreement, "Hey, mom? Could I stay home with her?" Lucas asked, knowing full well his mother wouldn't want that but hoped, in the current situation, his request would be met.

"I'm not letting you miss school, Lucas. You have practice and you can't miss that!" Karen told him firmly.

"But Brooke-" Lucas began protesting.

"Can come to the cafe with me and help me out in the back. She doesn't need to be seen and at least she's not alone." Karen finished off, pleased with herself. Lucas grinned, happy that his mother was helping them.

"Thanks mom. I'll tell her that when she wakes up" Lucas promised. He put one hand on the doorknob, indicating that he wanted to go back in the room.

"I understand if she doesn't want to, but I thought it'd be easier that way." Karen told him, "I'll go make breakfast. You go take a shower and get ready for school. And you can tell Brooke she's welcome to anything in my closet," Karen told him as she went into the kitchen to make breakfast.

Lucas went back into his room. Brooke had moved onto his side of the bed now and so he realized that he had no way of getting back in for a few more minutes of sleep. Hesitantly, he grabbed his clothes for school and made his way into the bathroom as quickly as he could, hoping that Brooke wouldn't wake to find him gone.

After having the quickest shower in the history of time (and a cold one at that, seeing as he hadn't bothered to wait for the hot water to kick in), Lucas managed to change and do his hair before re-entering his bedroom, to find Brooke on the cusp of being wide-awake.

She gave him a sleepy grin when she saw him, "Hey. You're awake!" she said stretching out in a cat-like fashion.

"Yeah. Sleep well?" he asked slipping his watch on his wrist from the bedside table. She nodded.

"Eventually. I'm sorry for hogging your bed" she apologized pulling herself up into an upright position.

"Don't worry about it," Lucas smiled back. "Listen, I have to go to school and so my mom thought that if you wanted to, you could spend the day with her at the cafe. No one will see you and so you don't have to worry about that." Lucas informed her. Brooke thought about it for a minute.

"Are you sure she won't mind? I won't be in her way, right?" she looked nervous and concerned. Her relationship with Lucas' mother had gotten off to a rocky start at first, and though they'd made progress in Charlotte during the Cheerleading Classic; news of Brooke's pregnancy scare has caused Brooke to avoid stopping by the café for fear of facing the wrath of Miss Roe.

"She's the one who suggested it in the first place. She doesn't want you to be alone at a time like this" Lucas assured her. Brooke nodded, smiling slightly.

"Then sure, tell her I'll take her up on her offer" Lucaswaspleased that Brooke had agreed and gave her a grin.

"Cool. I'll check on you at lunch and bring you all your homework so you don't miss out."

"And here I was thinking I'd be safe from all things academic!" she said sarcastically, "Thank you," she added sincerely.

"No worries. The shower is free if you want it. My mom's cooking breakfast and you can raid either of our closets. I wasn't sure if you'd want to wear something of mine or my mom's."

Brooke nodded and Lucas gave her some privacy so she could start getting ready for the day. When Lucas left, Brooke sighed and got out of bed, making her way down the hall and into the bathroom. Locking the door, Brooke let out another sigh and slowly gathered her courage to look into the mirror.

She was shocked at the image staring back at her. Her hair was dishevelled, her eyes red and puffy – where the purple ring of her black eye wasn't. She could see the bruise on her shoulder still kept its deep purple color. It ached when she tried rolling her shoulders. Her lip had swollen up slightly and the blood had dried into a dark reddish brown color. She looked terrible, to say the least.

'_Good thing I'm not going to school today,' _Brooke said to herself as she opened up the bathroom cabinet. She rooted around for a spare toothbrush but finding none, she looked at two on the sink. _'Okay, Brooke. One of these is Karen's and other is Lucas'… which one is which?'_ she mused.

She opted for the red one with the basketball on it as she assumed Lucas wouldn't use the one with the purple flower. After brushing her teeth, Brooke stripped down and had a quick shower. Her lip stung as the hot water cascaded down her body and she winced in pain as she massaged the shower gel onto her body that was still aching from the bruises.

When she finished, she wrapped the nearby towel around her body and went back into Lucas' room. While she was in the shower, someone had washed her clothes from last night and put them on the bed. Grabbing the underwear, she pulled them on quickly and then searched through Lucas' wardrobe, desiring something soft and warm. Brooke smiled as she caught sight of the gray hoodie that Lucas favoured and she pulled it out, throwing it on the bed. Then she found a t-shirt of his and threw that down too. Deciding to wear her jeans from the previous night, she put it on and followed it with Lucas' t-shirt and hoodie. She looked at her reflection once again and after brushing a comb through her hair, she decided she was more or less presentable for breakfast.

Brooke could hear Lucas' laughter echoing down the hall from the kitchen and her stomach growled at the distant smell of pancakes and toast. _'Okay,'_ she thought _'just because I look like crap doesn't mean I have to act like it.'_

With a final flick of her hair, she turned around and went on a quest to fill her stomach.

* * *

Felix stalked through the grounds of Tree Hill High, roughly pushing past people who were in his way and not apologizing when they stumbled or yelled an annoyed "hey!" at him. He'd realized Brooke hadn't returned home since he'd last seen her and he couldn't reach her on her cell. He doubted she'd be at school either but he had to try.

Felix had been sure she would have run into the arms of Lucas by now, but the attempt to claim her back from him had proved futile when Lucas' mother insisted there were no young girls hidden in her house and he had no reason not to trust her. _'Unless she's also protecting Brooke'_ he thought bitterly. Spying the familiar abundance of blonde curly locks from the distance, Felix ran faster and made his way towards Peyton.

She yelped in surprise as Felix jumped in front of her, slightly out of breath but still determined to find where his girlfriend was.

"Peyton! Have you seen Brooke?" he asked. Peyton took a moment to compose herself and get down from the shock of Felix's arrival.

"And a hello to you too," Peyton rolled her eyes when Felix didn't look amused, "No, I haven't. Tried calling?" she questioned.

"She's avoiding me." Felix narrowed his eyes at the blonde.

"Right," Peyton said realizing that Brooke and Felix obviously had a fight, "One thing I know about Brooke is that when she's pissed at you, she's really pissed at you. She'll find you when she wants to. But I will try and get in touch with her for you, if you want me too!" Peyton told Felix. He grunted.

"Let me know straight away, okay? I need to talk to her" he said to Peyton before stalking off again.

"Ass" Peyton muttered as she pulled out her phone and began punching in Brooke's number when she spotted Lucas making his way towards here. She immediately put her phone in her bag and walked up to meet him half-way.

"Hey Lucas. Have you seen Brooke? Felix was looking for her. It seems there's trouble in paradise," she winked playfully. She frowned when Lucas didn't return the gesture.

"I know. Brooke's been at mine all night." He told her simply, not looking at her but looking around her. Peyton dipped her head down and stuffed a hand in her pocket.

"Oh... I didn't know you were-" she began. Lucas noticed her change in mood and realized what she'd thought.

"It's not like that," he told her and making sure nobody was in earshot, he added "Felix has been hitting her." Peyton looked up in disbelief.

"Oh my god. Is she alright?" she questioned, wondering how in the world Brooke hadn't told her.

"Not really. She's at my mom's cafe, keeping away from here." Lucas scanned the school, noticing Felix talking to Anna in the car park.

"I don't blame her," Peyton muttered, "Oh my god…"

"I need a favor from you," Lucas told her, averting his gaze from the brother and sister in case the noticed him staring.

"Anything" Peyton responded quickly, wanting to do anything to help her friends.

"Could you go to Brooke's and pick up a bag of her things? I'd do it but I want to keep an eye on Felix and then I want to check on Brooke at lunch," he explained, telling her the plans he'd made on the way here.

"Of course I will, when do you want me to give it to you?" she asked.

"Anytime possible. You could drop it off at my house or the cafe. Or maybe I'll catch up with you later."

"Yeah, okay. Hey, um, when you see Brooke - tell her I'm here for her and if she ever needs to talk-" Peyton offered. Lucas nodded.

"I'll do that. But please don't tell anyone else, okay?" Peyton made a 'my lips are sealed' gesture and gave Lucas a tight smile as the bell rang.

"I need to go to homeroom so…"

"Yeah, same here. I'll speak to you soon," he said before running off to his class and leaving Peyton standing alone.

Peyton sighed. She thought that her friendship with Brooke was stronger than ever and now that this had happened; her best friend had chosen to turn to the one person who'd come between them. The second bell broke Peyton out of her reverie and with a deep sigh she went to class.

* * *

Brooke growled as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her black eye was nicely covered up but for some reason, she kept messing up with the mascara. Her lip was still slightly swollen and she knew that it would remain that way for a few more days. After attempting to try applying the mascara again Brooke threw the stick down in the sink in frustration, as it proved worthless. Breaking down, Brooke sobbed, wondering why it was so damn difficult for her to do something she'd become an expert in at the age of eleven.

Karen stopped at the doorway of the bathroom when she heard the quiet sobs. Checking that Deb had control of the café, she slowly made her way to the young girl.

"You okay, honey?" she asked. Brooke looked up at Karen and wiped away her tears in embarrassment. She tried to laugh as she explained.

"Yeah… it's stupid really. I just can't seem to get this eye right and… urgh!" she exclaimed showing the older woman the damage.

"Aw, sweetie. Let me help," Karen tore some toilet paper from one of the cubicles and applied water to it before gently wiping the mascara off. "You know, when I was in high school, Dan once hit me."

"Really?"

"Not on purpose. Although, he does seem the type to do that sort of thing,"

"What happened?" Brooke asked.

"He got angry after a bad game. His father was being really tough on him and he took it out on me. I was the straw that broke the camel's back. I know he didn't mean it, he… well, he spent the whole of the next week apologizing and buying me flowers and chocolate." Karen told her. Karen paused while she exchanged the wet tissue paper for the mascara tube.

"Are you telling me to go back to Felix?" Brooke questioned. Karen violently shook her head.

"Oh, honey, no. Dan was… different back then. I know he'd never touch me again, something in his eyes told me that. I know Felix hit you more than once and that shows it was not an accident. I was just telling you that because I learnt something."

"What was that?"

"Well, I spent the whole day in the bathrooms crying my eyes out and I found that it just made things worse. You can't hide from people."

"I have to hide. I look like something the cat dragged in."

"Well, your mascara is almost done, that black eye is concealed and you still have your dignity." Karen put away the mascara and Brooke looked at her reflection, pleased with the result.

"Thanks Karen, but I still have cut lip!" Brooke pointed at it.

"We can't do anything about that, but if you use that as a reason to hide away, you're letting Felix win. You have to show him you're stronger than that. I mean, the biggest step you took was not to stand for it and leaving him. You just have to carry that on." Brooke agreed with Karen's statement.

"I know and I will… I'm just afraid of what people will say. I hate being the subject of people's gossip."

"No one does. Seventeen years later, I'm still the girl who got knocked up by Dan Scott, and Lucas will probably bear the brunt of that but you've got to forget other people."

"I've missed this," Brooke mused. "This whole relationship between us. You're a very smart woman."

"And so are you. I missed this too," there was a pause, "Brooke, I hope you don't mind me asking… but why did you and Lucas break up?"

Brooke looked down at the floor nervously. "If you had asked me this question… two months ago or something, I could have told you exactly what your son did to me and how much we both hurt each other…"

"But..?" Karen implored. Brooke shrugged.

"The way he acted yesterday, protecting me and caring about me… it doesn't much matter any more. All the bad stuff is in the past now and he's been a really good friend. You raised a great son, you should be proud."

"Is that your way of avoiding the question?" Karen asked. Brooke grinned, "Okay, well Brooke, you and I have to get back and help Deb. Your lemon shortcake is a hit, you never told me you could cook!" Karen complimented. Brooke blushed slightly.

"Well… when you get bored you just feel like making stuff, especially when you're home alone. I could make some chocolate fudge shortcake too! They're my specialty!" she gave Karen a dimpled smile.

"In that case, Miss Davis, lead me to the kitchen!" Karen laughed.

* * *

Lucas tapped his foot on the ground impatiently as he waited for World History to end. He checked the clock on the wall and tracked the red hand as it slowly made its way to the 12. It was almost 12.15, which meant that if he ran, he could get to his mom's café by 12.22 to check on Brooke. She'd been on his mind since he'd left her in the morning and after losing sight of Felix sometime during the day, he'd been worried about her.

The bell finally rang and Lucas gathered his books and pushed through the crowds to reach the nearest exit. As he sprinted, he heard his name being called. He turned around to see Peyton running to catch up with him. He waited until she reached him and handed him a blue duffel bag.

"Here you go. I skipped 4th to get Brooke's stuff," she explained, out of breath.

"You didn't have to do that,"

"I wanted to. Brooke's my best friend and, well, I'm never going to need English in life anyway. Are you going to see Brooke now?" Lucas nodded, "Can I come with? I really want to see her."

"Sure, she'll be pleased to see you," Lucas said. Peyton nodded.

"Can I ask you a favor now?" Lucas nodded slowly, "Can we take my car? I really don't want to run."

Lucas smiled and followed Peyton to her car. "Lucas, I have to tell you something." Peyton told him once they sat down in the car.

"Can you tell me while we're driving?" Lucas asked, but seeing her serious expression he quickly added, "What is it?"

"Felix was at Brooke's house. He totally cornered me and demanded to know where she was."

"You tell me this _now_?" Lucas yelled, "Well… what did you say?"

"I told him I didn't know where she was and all I was doing was picking up a CD she'd borrowed." Peyton told him. Lucas didn't seem convinced.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! I would never betray you or Brooke like that. Anyway, he… well, I think he's really mad. He doesn't like to take no for an answer. I managed to convince him to go to the mall while I got her stuff. I don't think he suspects that she's with you. I was just warning you because when he finds her, he's going to be really pissed."

Lucas nodded, "He's going to have to get past me first. I'm not going to let anything else happen to her."

Peyton nodded silently as she turned on the engine. Brushing back tears, she drove Lucas to Karen's Café.

She was disappointed to learn that Brooke occupied Lucas' mind so much, and that he hadn't noticed the faint mark on her arm where Felix had held on tightly earlier in Brooke's room.

'_Of course he wouldn't,_' she told herself bitterly, _'it's always been Brooke_'.

**To Be Continued…**


	3. Support

**Author's Notes:** Thank you all for your amazing reviews. They make me write a lot faster. Also,a bit of a lighter chapter here to begin withbefore we cut tosome more drama!

**Chapter 3: Support**

Pulling up in front of Karen's Café, Peyton got out of the car, pulling the blue duffel bag out of the back seat. Lucas had already gone inside the café, too anxious to wait for her. Taking a deep breath, she followed, remembering that they were there for Brooke's benefit.

Lucas gave Deb a small smile as she greeted him when he entered. Karen returned from one of the tables she'd be waiting on and gave her son a quick kiss on his cheek.

"How's Brooke?" he asked, turning around when he heard Peyton enter. She stood next to him at the counter and handed him the duffel bag. "We've got her clothes," he told Deb and Karen.

"She's in the kitchen," Karen told them both, "Feel free to go and see her. Do you want lunch?" Lucas shook his head.

"I'm just going to check on Brooke first," he told her making his way behind the counter.

"How about you, Peyton? Want anything?" Karen asked the blonde in front of her. Peyton shook her head, "You want to see Brooke?" Peyton hesitated before finally nodding.

"If that's okay."

"Of course. It's just through there." Karen pointed in the direction Lucas had just gone to before excusing herself to serve some customers. Deb gave Peyton a smile as Peyton reluctantly entered the kitchen.

-------

Lucas snuck up behind Brooke, who had her back turned to him as she hummed some unrecognisable tune. Unable to resist, Lucas blew in her ear. She squealed in fright and immediately threw the chocolate covered spoon in Lucas' direction. Too slow to react, Lucas groaned in pain as the object hit his face.

Brooke laughed out loud at the chocolate stains on his face and clothes. "Serves you right. What kind of idiot are you?" she said angrily, although she couldn't help but laugh. Lucas picked up the spoon that had fallen onto the floor after connecting with his body.

"Haha!" he said sarcastically. "Why are you even cooking?" he asked. Brooke took the spoon off his hands and dropped it into the sink.

"Because, Broody, I wanted to do something to repay your mom for her help and chocolate fudge shortcakes are my specialty," she told him matter-of-factly.

-------

Peyton watched and listened to the two, who were blissfully ignorant of her presence. She knew that Brooke and Lucas were on their way to becoming friends but she didn't know that they were that close. And she also never knew that their friendship didn't include her.

Dejected, she decided it best to leave them alone and went back to the front of the café. Deb saw the look on Peyton's face when she came out, "Everything okay?" she asked. Peyton shrugged.

"I thought that maybe Brooke and Lucas should talk first. I can always catch up with her later." Peyton explained. Deb nodded.

"Well, you must be hungry. How about some lunch?"

"I'm not that hungry, thanks Deb," Peyton told her sadly. Deb took out a chocolate fudge shortcake and put it in a bag.

"Something quick then?" she handed the bag to her. Peyton took it. "Brooke's been making them all day. They're delicious." Deb smiled. Peyton smiled back.

"I know. Brooke and I used to make them all the time when she came over. I forgot these were her favourite," Peyton sighed.

Deb leant closer to her son's ex-girlfriend, "Are you sure everything is okay, Peyton? You can tell me, I won't tell anyone anything you don't want them to know," Peyton seemed to consider it but a glance back at the kitchen made her want to leave the café as quickly as possible.

"It's okay. Like I said, I'll catch up with Brooke later on. Thanks!" she said leaving the café. Deb frowned as Karen came up to her.

"She didn't stay long," Karen commented. Deb nodded.

"I know. Peyton seems different. Quieter,"

"She was always quiet, Deb. It's not easy losing a mother like that and Larry seems to be absent most of the time. I think she might just be feeling alone."

"But she's not alone. Whenever she was with Brooke she seemed happier. It's strange; you'd think she'd want to be here for her best friend at a time like this." Deb mused.

"Well, I'll try talking to her. But you never know what's going on in the heads of teenagers nowadays. Maybe it's nothing." Karen told her friend. Deb nodded.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Who wanted this coffee?" Deb questioned looking at the beverage she'd been making before her conversation with Peyton.

"Oh, table 12… over there!" Karen said pointing to a table in the far corner, almost hidden from view. Deb nodded and made her way there with the coffee.

-------

"I brought you your clothes." Lucas told Brooke showing her the duffel bag at the other end of the kitchen.

"You went to my house?" she asked in alarm, "What about Felix?"

"I didn't go. I thought it'd be too suspicious. Peyton went, although Felix was there."

"Peyton?" Brooke asked, "Well, what happened?"

"Not much. I remember Peyton telling me that she made some excuse about a CD and sent him to the mall. You're safe." Lucas said, trying to remember his earlier conversation with Peyton.

"Is she here?" Lucas nodded.

"She should be, we came in her car. I think she's in the front. Want to see her?" Brooke nodded, "I thought you wanted to stay hidden."

"Well, yeah, but if Felix is at the mall then I should be okay. Plus, your mom helped me with my make-up. And I really want to see Peyton, I wonder why she didn't come into the kitchen. She loves chocolate fudge shortcakes." Brooke said racing out of the kitchen.

"Brooke!" Deb said when she saw the two come into the front of the café, "You finally came out, huh?"

"Where's Peyton?" Brooke asked scanning the café.

"You just missed her, I'm afraid. She left a couple of minutes ago," Deb informed her. Brooke sighed, "She said she'd call you later anyway." Brooke nodded, disappointed that her best friend hadn't come to see her.

She sighed and turned away, "Guess I should get back to those shortcakes. Thanks, Deb." Lucas followed Brooke as she slinked back into the kitchen.

Less than half a minute later, Anna got up from her seat at Table 12 and threw a couple of notes down to pay for the coffee. Although her purpose for being there was to talk to Lucas about the Formal, she'd been intrigued to see Lucas go straight into the back and Peyton disheartened from staying the café. She'd been about to follow Peyton when she'd noticed Brooke and Lucas emerge from the kitchen.

With a tinge of jealousy, she waited until they'd disappeared out of sight before leaving the café and pulling out her phone. Her brother had been looking for his girlfriend for two days and he'd voiced his suspicions of her involvement with Lucas to Anna, who'd dismissed the claims as ludicrous. But seeing her boyfriend with his ex-girlfriend gave her the proof that her brother had wanted.

"Felix?" she said into the phone when it picked up, "She _is _with Lucas,"

"I told you. Where are they?" Felix demanded to know.

"At Karen's Café, they're hiding in the back."

"Okay, Anna. I'll be there soon. That Peyton bitch told me Brooke was at the mall."

"I'll deal with Peyton," she informed her brother, "Just make sure both Brooke and Lucas get what they deserve."

"Don't worry, little sister, they will," Anna hung up and began walking the short distance to Peyton's house.

-------

Peyton paced the length of her room for the umpteenth time as she contemplated telling somebody about what Felix had done. She examined her wrist, now beginning to turn a deep purple colour. She rubbed it slightly as it stung and bit her lip.

It would be so easy to pick up the phone and call Brooke or Lucas, or anyone. But even harder to tell them. She knew that Brooke had a lot to deal with, seeing she'd been suffering Felix's rage longer than Peyton had, and Peyton didn't want to take any of the attention away from Brooke. This was Brooke's problem, not her's. Felix had hurt her once and she was sure as hell not going anywhere near him again.

She also knew that Lucas was so involved with protecting Brooke, the burden of having to protect Peyton too was unfair. Peyton had survived long enough on her own and she could continue doing so without needing anybody else.

Sighing in frustration, Peyton collapsed on her bed and stared up at the ceiling that Brooke and Lucas had helped her paint months before hand. Brooke had been adamant to stick glow-in-the-dark stars up on the ceiling because she liked the thought of somebody watching over Peyton at night.

"You spend way too much time alone, P. Sawyer," she had told her friend, "It's time I did something about that!"

Peyton had had her doubts but that night Peyton heard Lucas had been in an accident. Though her initial reaction was to go to him, she'd told Brooke and let her go to her boyfriend. She'd lain in bed, distressed and distraught, but when Peyton had glanced up at the ceiling, the stars had glowed reassuringly and Peyton had been able to get some sleep.

And how had Peyton repaid Brooke? By committing the worst sin anyone could do to their best friend - fooling around with her boyfriend. Peyton still felt guilty about that. Every time she saw Brooke or Lucas, a twinge of guilt ran through her body and she almost couldn't face either of them.

Peyton didn't feel anything for Lucas anymore. She was certain of that. Her eyes lay upon the drawing of Jake and Jenny she'd ripped in half after the dance. Tentatively touching the drawing, she realised just how much she missed the pair. Her life had seemed to turn upside down in recent months and she had the increasing feeling of feeling more and more alone.

She grabbed the pen and sketch pad that permanently resided next to her bed and turned to a fresh, blank page and began to draw.

-------

Karen watched Brooke and Lucas talking in the corner of the café while she cleaned the counter. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she could hear Brooke repeatedly laugh out loud and her son chuckled so she assumed it wasn't anything serious. She was glad that Brooke seemed to be happier than earlier and hoped the young girl would easily move past what had happened to her. Karen enjoyed Brooke's company and was pleased to see her getting on with Lucas again.

"I know what you're thinking," Deb told her as she counted the money up. Karen turned around to the blonde.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Karen asked. Deb nodded in the teenagers' direction.

"You're wondering if they're going to get back together," Deb said with a slight smile on her face. Karen didn't know what to say "Don't worry, Karen, it is clear there are still… feelings there. I mean, think about it, when she needs help, she turned to Lucas. And Lucas, well, he's very supportive. Did you notice Lucas didn't go back to school after lunch? He's been in the kitchen with her all day,"

"Yes, I saw the mess." Karen said shaking her head as she remembered the state of the kitchen less than an hour ago. "Doesn't mean they'll be getting back together. Brooke's a nice enough girl, but I think that she still hasn't forgiven him for cheating on her," Karen said sadly.

Deb looked at Karen, "She told you that?"

"No. But I could see it in her eyes," Karen told Deb matter-of-factly.

"How?" Deb questioned. Karen looked at Deb and hesitated before answering.

"Because it's the same look I had when Dan told me about you," both women looked away awkwardly before Karen continued, "there's no easy way to forgive someone you love for cheating on you."

"I'm sorry, Karen."

"Why? It's not your fault. You are my friend, Deb. My relationship with Dan, or lack of it, won't affect that" Karen promised her new friend. Deb nodded, grateful that Karen didn't hold a grudge against her for Dan's mistakes.

"Thanks, the same goes for you," Deb told her with a smile. "I've just about finished here. Do you want me to do anything else?" she asked. Karen shook her head.

"No, it's fine. I'll get the kids to help me lock up. You can go." Deb smiled and grabbed her bag from under the counter. "Good night." Karen said as Deb began to leave.

"Night Karen, night kids!" Deb called to Brooke and Lucas who interrupted their conversation to return the gesture.

"You kids hungry?" Karen asked the two. They looked at each other, as if waiting for one of them to make a decision.

"I'm fine, Karen." Brooke told her, "I think it was all that chocolate from earlier." Lucas agreed with his friend.

"Very well. It's still early so if either of you get hungry later on, just get something from home,"

"Are we going, mom?" Lucas questioned as Karen shut off the cappuccino machine. She nodded. "Come on, Brooke, time to go back. I'll help you with your physics homework,"

"Joy!" Brooke mumbled sarcastically before grinning, "Does that mean I can beat you in that basketball video game you always go on about?" Lucas scoffed teasingly.

"As if!"

"Hey! I beat you that one time!"

"Just _one_ time. And that's only because I let you win," Lucas defended.

"Yeah, right. Please, I got more skill in one finger than you have in your whole body"

"Wanna bet?"

"I'm game for that. If I win, again, then you… have to do all my homework for me,"

"And if _I_ win?" Lucas questioned.

"I'm not going to let that happen!" Brooke told him grabbing her coat.

"Are you two going to be like this all the way home?" Karen complained as she ushered them out of the door.

"Mom, it's her fault! She's saying she's better than me!" Lucas whined mockingly. Karen rolled her eyes and suppressed a smile as she locked up.

"In the car! And not a peep out of either of you or no TV tonight!" she played along, much to Brooke's delight.

On the short journey home, Lucas spent the whole journey pretending to pout because Karen let Brooke ride in the front seat, and cringed at the embarrassing stories of him both Brooke and Karen told and laughed at.

As they pulled up to the house, Brooke raced Lucas up to the front door and they waited for Karen to unlock the door. As they walked in, their smiles faded and they surveyed the scene in front of them.

The whole house had been turned upside down, as if someone had broken in, except nothing had been taken, all there was written on the wall was one word: 'SLUT'.

**To Be Continued…**


	4. Anger

**A/N: Sorry for the huge delay. School work got a bit out of hand. But here's a new chapter. Merry Xmas to everyone!**

**Chapter 4: Anger**

Karen was the first to react when she immediately reached for the phone and began to dial a three-digit number.

"Don't call the police" Brooke told her quietly, he gaze never quite leaving the writing on the wall. The other two people in the room looked at her in surprise. "It was Felix who did it"

"And that's why we have to put him behind bars!" Lucas said, using all the strength he had to control himself. Brooke shook her head at the mere suggestion.

"We have no proof, Lucas" she tried her best to stop the tears forming behind her eyes. After such a perfect day with no reminders of her next-door neighbour, it had to end like this.

"This is proof!" Lucas almost yelled waving his arms around his dishevelled living room, "and that" he roughly pulled down the collar of Brooke's t-shirt, exposing the bruise on her shoulder, "we cannot just let him get away with any of this" Lucas realised that he was unintentionally shouting at Brooke, who was on the verge of tears.

"He'll get away with it, Lucas. No matter what we do. He has money and it's not like the police around here will choose justice over a few hundred dollar bills"

"What do you suggest we do?" Karen asked the teenager. She was well aware that she was supposed to be the adult here, but in all her thirty-five years, she had never ever experienced something like this before. Even through all the snide remarks and gossip she'd been the subject of, nobody had ever violated her property.

Brooke shrugged in reply, "I don't know. I'll find some way to deal with him, I guess. And I'll totally pay for any damage done to your home."

"With what money?" Lucas shot back, "We know you don't have much by way of finances. Plus, it should be Felix who pays for it all"

Brooke began to open her mouth but was silenced by Karen's intervention, "Arguing will do no-one good. Let's just start… cleaning this mess up. All damaged or irreplaceable goods go on the kitchen table, everything else goes back where it was" Karen took charge and sighed in relief as both teenagers silently agreed and began to clean up.

-----

Anna knocked on Peyton's door, disturbing the artist's current project. Peyton looked up to see who it was and Anna noticed the slight hesitation that overcame her.

"Hey, what are you working on?" Anna asked. Peyton closed her sketch book almost immediately and dismissed it.

"It's nothing. I was just bored. What are you doing here?" Peyton pulled down her sweatshirt sleeve to cover the bruise that was looking a deeper hue of purple.

Anna walked slowly into the room, "I needed to talk to you. You're best friends with Brooke, right?"

Peyton nodded slowly. Sometimes it was hard to tell, especially recently, "I guess. We've been friends since we were little, anyway. Why?"

Anna sat down on the edge of Peyton's bed, "It's just that… well, you know that Lucas and I had a fight at the Formal, right?" Peyton nodded, "And I really want to make it work with him but… do you think Lucas and Brooke are together?"

If Peyton hadn't known the truth about Brooke, then she would probably have agreed with Anna's view but in the interest of protecting Brooke's secret, she laughed out loud.

"Come on, Anna. Brooke's with your brother and Lucas… he's a decent guy, he'd never cheat,"

"He did with you" Anna reminded her. Peyton looked away guiltily.

"That was a long time ago and it was a mistake. After all the trauma and drama of last year, I think we've all learnt that cheating is just not worth it. Lucas would never hurt you that way, and Brooke's been through a hell of a lot after being hurt like that. Neither of them would even come close to doing that." Peyton reassured.

Anna sighed, "I guess you're right. It's just… they seem to be spending a lot of time together. I mean Felix saw Lucas and Brooke together after the formal and now Brooke's avoiding Felix, I haven't heard from Lucas since our fight and I just get the feeling that somehow, I'm being frozen out"

Peyton nodded, the sentiment feeling familiar.

"Urgh!" Anna exclaimed lying back on the bed, "Don't you ever wish there were no boys in the world? They're so much work." Anna said looking up at Peyton.

"Sometimes" Peyton chuckled, "But then where else would we get our kicks?"

"We don't need boys to have some fun," he paused, "Have you ever thought about experimenting?"

"Uh, e-e-excuse me?" Peyton shifted uncomfortably.

"You know, girl-on-girl stuff. Just for fun, anyway. You and Brooke must have…"

"No! No way… I've always been a guy-oriented girl." Peyton pushed away from Anna. She was then shocked to see Anna burst into tears.

"I'm repulsive, aren't I?" Anna asked in tears, "That's why you won't kiss me and Lucas wouldn't sleep with me," she sobbed.

Peyton felt bad for reacting so badly and put a comforting hand on Anna's shoulder, "That's not true, Anna. You are gorgeous. I'm sorry for hurting your feelings," she reassured. Anna seemed to respond well to the comfort. Peyton sighed.

"Okay, if I give you a quick kiss, will you be happy? Just for fun, nothing more. We won't make a big deal about it" Peyton reasoned. Anna brightened up almost immediately and nodded.

Peyton sighed. Truth be told, she had kissed Brooke once and that was during Dare Night because Brooke hadn't wanted to kiss Felix. Plus, that too had been just for fun and it hadn't meant anything. This one, though almost forced on her, would also mean nothing. Peyton just wanted to make Anna feel better.

She closed her eyes and brought her face closer to Anna's. She felt her lips faintly brush another pair but before Peyton knew what was happening, Anna had crashed her lips onto Peyton's and pulled her face closer. Unable to instantly move away, Peyton was left wondering what Anna was doing.

The mere five second kiss felt like forever and it took all of Peyton's strength to pull away and stop Anna from pursuing the kiss deeper.

"What the hell-" Peyton protested, looking up at Anna. "This wasn't the deal!" Anna shrugged and looked towards the doorway where Felix stood.

"What in the world were you thinking, Peyton!" Anna almost yelled at the blonde. "Felix, she forced herself onto me"

"I know, I saw," Felix smirked. Peyton looked between the two in confusion.

"Wait, no… Anna kissed me!" she insisted, "You must have seen it!"

"I'm sorry, Goldilocks. When word gets around that you're a lesbian and you forced yourself onto my sister – you'll be done for,"

"Why are you doing this?" Peyton asked. Felix pretended to think for a minute.

"Let's see. My girlfriend is cheating on me with my sister's boyfriend and you lied to me about where she was. I know Brooke is staying with Lucas and you knew all along,"

"You've been beating her!" Peyton yelled. Anna looked at her brother in shock.

"Felix?" Felix shot his sister a look.

"She's lying, Anna. You know I'd never touch her like that. Peyton's just trying to get out of the mess she's gotten herself into,"

"Look at my arm if you don't believe me. Felix did that to me earlier when I was packing Brooke's bags for her." She said showing the bruise to Anna.

Anna seemed to not know what to do until Felix put an arm around her, "blood's thicker than water, Peyton. Believe me, by tomorrow everyone will know what you are, whatever you say"

With that, the siblings left Peyton alone in her room, wondering what she'd face the next day.

-----

After almost an hour and a half of cleaning, the house was more or less in some organized state. The only items broken or damaged to an extent were two lamps, a crystal figurine Karen has received for her birthday one year, a floral vase Karen had intended to get rid of anyway, and a few other bits and pieces.

Tired, stressed and in desperate need of some R&R, Brooke decided it best to get changed into some of her own clothes and lounge around the house. Karen had gone out to get some take-out as nobody had felt like cooking and Brooke was staying out of Lucas' way while he brooded.

She slipped into Lucas' room and turned on the light. Lucas' room had remained more or less intact; it seemed Felix decided to only target the living room. "Ass" she muttered, "can't even be bothered to mess up the whole house" she said pulling some clothes out of the duffel bag Peyton had packed for her.

Pulling out her pyjama pants and a tank top, Brooke unzipped her jeans and climbed out of them, before whipping off Lucas' grey sweatshirt, followed by the t-shirt she'd borrow from him.

-----

Nathan walked around Lucas' house. After his argument with Haley, he needed to get out of their apartment and do some serious thinking. He decided to see if Lucas wanted to play some Playstation or just talk as he knew that his brother was the one person who understood Haley.

Seeing the light in Lucas' room on, he assumed that that was where he was. He could see a figure move around in the room and his assumption seemed to be correct. Nathan didn't bother knocking as he'd seen Lucas in various states of undress in the locker room and so just walked in casually.

"Oh my God!" he said as he witnessed a startled Brooke standing in Lucas' room in just her underwear. She looked as shocked as he was and immediately reached for Lucas' grey hoodie to cover her modesty.

"Don't you knock?" she yelled. He looked dumbfounded and she snapped her fingers in front of his face, "Hey, peeping Tom, I asked you a question. Does Tutor Wife know that you go around walking in on girls undressing?" she snapped.

Lucas, upon hearing the commotion, ran into his room, "Nathan," he said looking at his brother, then shifting his gaze to the girl, he said "Brooke" obviously impressed with what he saw.

Brooke, realizing that both men were staring at her made several attempts to get them to leave, "Why are you both here?"

"I came to see what all the screaming was about"

"I came to talk to Luke"

"Okay, I don't care. Show's over. Go away!" she ushered them out of the room, "Geez! Can't a girl get some privacy?" she complained as they reluctantly left the room. She slammed the door.

The brothers stood outside it for a few seconds before moving away. "Dude, I had no idea you two were back on!" Nathan exclaimed, before Lucas could reply, the door opened and Brooke popped her head out.

"We're not, thank you very much, and I can still hear you!" she said irritably slamming the door away. This time both Nathan and Lucas moved away from Brooke's earshot.

"So, what's going on? Or do you just randomly let her undress in your room?" Nathan asked.

"It's not like that. She's in trouble and I offered to let her stay here for a while."

"What kind of trouble?" Nathan asked as they both entered the living room. Lucas pointed to the graffiti on the wall.

"That kind. Felix has been beating her and we found this when we came home,"

Nathan was speechless. Through all his recent troubles with his wife, he had no idea this had been happening.

"Where is he now?" Nathan asked, "He better be in jail"

"Nope," Lucas shook his head, "Brooke wouldn't let us call the cops because Felix can easily bail himself out. I don't know what we're going to do."

"I'll tell him what we're going to do, we're going to go and beat his ass if he comes near Brooke again."

"Join the line. I think its best we avoid him for the time being at least. I don't know if I can so much as see him without wanting to pound him," Lucas said, "Anyway, why are you here?"

"Can't a guy come and talk to his brother?" Nathan asked, bottling out of telling Lucas his problems, considering he seemed to have his plate full with Felix. Lucas shook his head.

"C'mon, tell me what's going on." Nathan shook his head, "Okay, maybe later then. Want to play some Playstation?" Lucas suggested. Nathan nodded and Lucas began setting up the console as they settled on the floor in front of the couch.

They'd only been playing for less than ten minutes when Lucas paused the game. "What's the matter?" he asked his brother.

"What do you mean?"

"You usually beat the hell out of me and you just missed, like, five free throws. What's going on?" Lucas questioned, "Is it Haley?" Nathan knew Lucas wouldn't let it go, especially if he thought his best friend was involved. Nathan put down his controller and rubbed his eyes.

"You know Haley is doing her music thing, right?" Lucas nodded, "Well, she's been getting help from this guy called Chris. Know him?"

"Heard _of_ him. Is he that guy who refused to perform at Tric?"

"Yeah. Anyway, he's been spending a whole lot of time with Haley. She was late for the formal because she was recording some duet with him. Of course, I got pissed off and Haley and I got into a fight after I… I told her she couldn't see him again"

Lucas laughed and put a hand on his forehead. "You didn't, did you?" Nathan nodded in embarrassment, "Oh man!"

"Why? What's wrong?" Lucas looked at Nathan.

"Nate, Haley is a lot like Brooke. You know how Brooke gets pissed when people tell her what not to do, right?" Nathan nodded, "Well, you just broke one of the first rules of dating… marriage, or whatever. You can't tell her what to do. All women are like 'Argh!' when that happens. I once told Brooke that she couldn't wear this really short dress out on our date and she got so pissed of that she went and changed into something even more… well, you get the idea," Lucas explained, "Don't forget that whole speech she gave me about women's rights and oppression in the 50s"

"Wow" Nathan commented, "Here's me thinking Brooke never listened in history!" the boys shared a laugh and Lucas patted his brother on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, man, just let her cool off then apologize. And if you have any more trouble with that Chris guy, I've got your back." Nathan thanked him and they banged fists and resumed their game.

Brooke came out of Lucas' room and immediately made herself at home on the couch, purposely sitting in the middle so her legs would be in between the two boys. "Whatcha doin'?" she asked pushing Nathan out of the way slightly so she could get comfortable.

"Playing. Want to watch?" Nathan asked.

"Pfft! I'd rather play. I already bet that I'd beat Lucas." Brooke said proudly. The two boys exchanged a look before laughing. "What's so funny?" Brooke demanded.

"I'm sorry, Brooke, but this game isn't for girls. Why don't you go straighten your hair or something?" Nathan told her, knowing full well she wasn't going to like his suggestion.

Brooke narrowed her eyes and reached down to grab the control off Nathan. He was a touch too fast and managed to ward her off, forcing her to try and grab Lucas'. There was a small struggle between the two and Brooke leaned a little too far off the couch, enabling Lucas to pull her off it. The shock of the loss of control was too much for Brooke to bear and she went crashing onto the floor, hitting it with a thud.

"Ow…" she complained holding the back of her head. Nathan and Lucas cast a glance at each other before immediately going to Brooke's aid.

"Are you okay?" Lucas asked, hoping she wasn't too badly hurt. He shook her gently and panicked when there was no reply from the girl. He shook her again, "Brooke?"

He and Nathan were about to get really worried when the body started shaking. It was only when they heard stifled laughter when they realized that Brooke, of course, was joking. Brooke laughed openly as she felt them start to back off and she sat up, removing stay hair from her face.

"Gotcha!" she grinned.

"That wasn't funny," Lucas told her pointedly. Brooke looked at Nathan, who also didn't mind it too funny. She shrugged as she got up off the floor.

"At least I got control of the game. Okay, guys, which one of you boys is brave enough to face me?"

-----

Peyton's heart raced as she impatiently waited for the traffic light to go red. The streets were unusually empty for this time of the day. Peyton had done this countless times before, imitating the circumstances that had led to her mother's untimely death and then wondering why nothing happened to her when she tried it. It reduced the sixteen year old to tears most days and the feeling of abandonment haunted her every single day.

She could have easily broken down completely if it hadn't been for Brooke's constant presence. Brooke was there for Peyton through it all and tried everything in her power to help the blonde forget her troubles and have as much fun as teenagers their age should do.

As the light went red, Peyton put her foot on the accelerator and zoomed across the road, feeling the wind blow fiercely through her unruly curls. She added more pressure to the accelerator pedal as she realized just how unfriend-like she had been to Brooke during the Lucas-drama last year.

How she had just ignored Brooke's call for help just because she wanted to be with Lucas.

How guilty she'd felt when she'd bumped into a heartbroken Brooke at the mall and how she was more worried about what Haley would think of it all.

That day Peyton had ditched Brooke for Lucas and then again for Haley, completely disregarding how Brooke felt and not being there for her when she needed a best friend.

Peyton could feel the car go faster and faster as tears fell carelessly down her cheeks.

Peyton had felt horrendously guilty for her behavior towards Brooke that time and it had lead to her friendship with Brooke almost disintegrating the following months.

Now she had Brooke back and she was putting it in danger when Brooke needed her again.

Peyton tried to forget the pain she'd felt when Felix and Anna had threatened her earlier. She knew that the best way to get even with the siblings was to be there for Brooke and open up to her.

She frowned as she remembered the threat and wondered what it would be like tomorrow. Peyton wasn't sure if she could take the looks, snide remarks and the gossip flying around her all day and she also knew that she couldn't let Brooke fight her battles for her this time, especially since it was against the person Brooke was desperately trying to avoid.

Lost in her own thoughts, Peyton suddenly felt all control of her car slip away from her and she was veering carelessly towards a tree. Trying to regain control, Peyton managed to swerve the car away, but it spun and Peyton closed her eyes in fear until it finally stopped with a crash.

Slowly opening her eyes, Peyton took in her surroundings. Realizing that she was alive and her body or car had not sustained serious damage, Peyton began to laugh loudly before her laughs gradually subsided into deep sobs.

**To Be Continued…**


	5. Strength

**Sorry it's taken so long. Exams loom and I haven't had the time to update. Thanks for all the fantastic reviews and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Chapter 5: Strength**

Nathan watched in amazement as Lucas Scott, the school's (second) best basketball player, was being beaten in a virtual basketball game by none other than cheerleader, Brooke Davis. He shook his head as Brooke made another basket and knew that this was something he'd have to gloat about to the other members of the team. Lucas would never live this down.

"That didn't count!" Lucas protested as he paused the game. Brooke looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"And that makes sense how?" she asked, this being the twelfth time Lucas insisted her basket was just a fluke. So far she'd heard that he had had something in his eye, his elbow was itchy, he had forgotten which player he was, and that Nathan was distracting him.

"Because… I have a cramp in my leg and so I can't concentrate."

"You are such a liar!" she hit him on the arm with the back of her hand. Lucas held it and feigned pain, rolling over onto his side and groaning. Brooke glanced at Nathan who found it extremely funny, "God, Lucas, you are such a baby!" she complained pulling him towards her. "No wonder your best friend was Tutor Wife"

"Hey!" came an indignant reply from the younger Scott.

"Face the facts. The Scott brothers may be superstars on the court, but on a video game, you guys suck. And now you're making up excuses because you don't want to admit to being beaten by a girl" Brooke playfully stuck out her tongue.

"Is that so?" Nathan asked. Brooke nodded, "in that case, Davis, how about you and I play a one-on-one game? It's probably just Lucas who sucks."

"Hey!" Lucas said as he relinquished his controller and Nathan replaced him against Brooke.

Less than ten minutes later, Brooke was winning and Nathan was eight points down.

"Damn Brooke, how'd you get so good at this?"

"Well, when I dated Broody, this was the only action I could get" Brooke joked much to Lucas' horror.

"I resent that. We did a lot of… in fact, most of our mornings, afternoons and evenings were full of-"

"Oh, dude, don't go there. I'm really not interested in hearing about your… hey I wasn't looking, that doesn't count!" Nathan complained when Brooke used the opportunity to score again. "I'm not playing with you anymore"

"I thought the Scotts were supposed to be ruthless, go-getters? How the hell did you both get girlfriends and I'm still alone?" Brooke asked.

"Well," Nathan said putting an arm around Brooke, "Haley and I get a little lonely sometimes…" he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, "or there's always me and Luke here to help you out"

Brooke pushed his arm away and got up off the floor, "This is starting to get too weird for me. You're almost as bad as Tim". She jumped when she heard her cellphone ring from the coffee table. "Thank god," she said as she checked the caller-ID, "Peyton ought to save me from the gutter-minds of adolescent boys" she said as she answered the phone.

"Hey Peyton, what's u- Peyton? What's wrong?" both boys looked over to Brooke when she said those words, "honey, you're going to have to stop crying, I can't… where are you? Peyton? hello? Dammit!" she exclaimed as she tried redialling Peyton's number when she heard a dial tone at the other end.

"What's wrong?" Lucas asked as Brooke redialled.

"I don't know, she was in tears and then she started talking about Felix and something about Anna and school… I'm going to try reaching her again," Brooke told him as she pressed the phone to her ear. "Peyton!" she cried as it picked up, "Peyton? Where are you? Hang on; I'm coming to get you. Just… just hang on okay?" Brooke quickly hung up and faced Lucas and Nathan, "ready to help another friend in need?" she asked.

-----

It didn't take long for the three to find Peyton's car in the road. Brooke was the first to jump out of the car and rush to her best friend's aid.

"Oh God, Peyton! Peyton, where are you?" Brooke yelled as she opened the driver's door. She found the blonde sobbing into her hands. Brooke hugged her tightly before looking around to see if she was hurt. "Are you hurt? Peyton?"

Peyton was sobbing so hard that she was almost unable to reply coherently. By now Lucas and Nathan had joined Brooke and were trying to make sense of the situation.

"I don't think she's hurt, but I have no idea what's wrong," Brooke told them, concerned for her friend.

"Let's get her out of the car and take her home. I'll call Keith and tell him to collect Peyton's car" Lucas instructed. Nathan and Brooke nodded and helped Peyton slowly get out of the car.

"Come on, babe, let's get you home" Brooke told her reassuringly as she and Nathan led her to Nathan's car. After calling Keith, Lucas joined them in getting Peyton into the vehicle.

On the journey to Peyton's, Brooke was still trying desperately to get Peyton to talk to her. Peyton, however, wasn't crying so much anymore and rested her head on Brooke's shoulder as she contemplated the night's events. The boys remained silent throughout, unsure of how to proceed with regard to the blonde girl that they both had once loved.

As they pulled up to the house, the trio helped their friend inside and into her room. Peyton lay across her bed, refusing to look at anyone and just staring at her wall.

"Peyton?" Brooke began sitting down beside her, "please talk to me, you're really scaring me" Brooke pleaded, hating to see her friend like this. The last time it had happened was after her mother died.

Brooke glanced at the boys who looked uncomfortable being in the room. They decided to let Brooke and Peyton have some privacy, hoping that it would allow Peyton a chance to open up to Brooke. They made their excuses and went downstairs to wait for Brooke.

Brooke tried several times to get Peyton to talk to her but each came up with no answer. Finally Brooke decided to go downstairs and join Nathan and Lucas so they could discuss what to do next. As she got up off the bed, Peyton turned around and faced Brooke.

"Brooke?" Brooke immediately turned around and smiled, happy that she'd got a response.

"Yeah?"

"Could you… if you don't mind, I'd like to be alone right now. I know you're just trying to help, but I'm really not in the mood to be around anybody tonight. Thanks for being here but… I just… I can't talk about it yet"

"Okay, Peyton, but I'll be downstairs if you want me, okay? I'll sleep on the couch and-"

Peyton shook her head.

"You don't have to do that for me."

"You're my best friend, of course I do. I don't want to leave you alone," Brooke told her. Peyton still shook her head.

"Go home, Brooke. Or to Lucas', wherever. And tell the guys to do the same. I just really want to be alone" Brooke was hesitant to leave her friend alone in this state but she reluctantly agreed.

"Fine. I won't stay tonight but bright and early tomorrow morning, I'm coming over and I'm going to be here, whether you like it or not. And you better tell me everything or…" Brooke trailed off, realising that threats, no matter how empty they were, weren't going to work, "I'll be here, okay? Just call if you need anything… and I mean _anything_"

Peyton nodded and turned back around so she faced the wall. Slowly, Brooke turned towards the door and left Peyton alone.

Lucas immediately diverted turned his attention from the TV when he heard Brooke approaching.

"Anything?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Nah, she, um… she wants to be alone tonight so I guess we'd better leave."

"Will she be okay?" Brooke shrugged in reply.

"I don't know but I'll check on her tomorrow before school. Where's Nathan?" Brooke asked when she noticed the younger Scott was not there.

"Oh, Haley called and he had to leave. He wants us to call or something if Peyton needed something" Lucas told Brooke.

"Nathan has the car." Brooke realised, "and I know Peyton doesn't want anybody here. I'd rather abide by her request than have her mad at me for staying."

"We could walk. It's only a few blocks to my house and we could cut through the park."

Brooke nodded and bit her lip. Lucas remembered that this is what she did when she was upset so he immediately wrapped his arms around the brunette, soothingly rubbing his hand up and down her back as she tried to hold back some tears.

"It's okay, Brooke, we'll get to the bottom of this."

"I've never seen her like this, Lucas. Not since her mom anyway. I don't even know what happened to her, all she did was mention something about Anna and Felix and I feel so helpless"

"Let's get you home and then we can talk about it or something," Lucas suggested. Brooke nodded and followed Lucas out of the door, taking one last glance at the stairs.

Peyton heard the door close and she let out a sigh. She'd heard their conversation and secretly wished she hadn't asked them to leave. She hoped that Brooke stood by her promise to drop in on her early next morning, but then again, she just didn't feel up to seeing her either. It'd just bring back the guilt she'd been feeling about having to add her own problems onto the burden Brooke was already carrying.

-----

Lucas and Brooke took a leisurely stroll through the park as they talked about everything. Brooke sighed as she shook her head.

"How did everything get so messed up?" she asked Lucas, "I'm scared of my boyfriend, Peyton won't talk to me, my family is broke and Tutor Wife might be screwing around on Nathan…"

"How'd you know about that?" Lucas asked stopping in mid-step. Brooke stopped and turned to him.

"Thin walls. I heard everything you and Nathan were talking about." She explained, "Sorry," she then apologised, "eavesdropping is kind of in my nature"

"Don't worry about it. I'm also trying to figure out why everything is so…"

"Different? Screwed up? Out of whack?" Brooke suggested. Lucas laughed wryly and nodded while Brooke shrugged.

They began walking again, slower than before and just enjoying each other's company through all that had happened. After a few minutes Brooke piped up, "I blame Felix."

Lucas laughed again, "why? Aside from the obvious."

"Before he came to Tree Hill, I was… I was happy. As happy as I could be, anyway, my parents had lost everything by then but… Peyton and I were happy, Tutor Wife and Nathan were happy and I was happy just being your friend. Now…"

"Now?" Lucas ventured when Brooke trailed off. His curiosity had peaked when he heard the last part of her speech.

Brooke looked up at him; trying to suppress the old feelings that had started to resurface the night Lucas had taken her in. She wondered what he'd say if she told him right now how she felt but then chided herself for being stupid. _You're just friends_, she thought mentally, _you don't need to go down that road again._

"Now everything is ruined since he and his horse-faced excuse for a sister showed up in our town!" she said looking away before she could see the flicker of disappointment across Lucas' face.

Lucas waited a brief moment before rejoining Brooke's side, "I'm not going to argue with you there," he muttered. He took her hand and started to lead her away from the playground she was staring at, "it's getting late, we should go"

Brooke nodded and allowed herself to follow Lucas back to the path they were supposed to be following. She wrapped her arms around her body as she realised how cold it actually was.

Brooke was surprised when Lucas wrapped an arm around her, reassuringly warming her up and letting her know that everything was going to be okay, even if he didn't believe it.

"Isn't this cosy?" a voice from behind them said. Brooke froze while Lucas rolled his eyes. _This is the last thing we need._

The pair slowly turned around to be face to face with Felix. Lucas kept his arm around Brooke, this time protectively while Brooke sunk into it, still unready to face her ex-boyfriend.

"I heard rumours about you two, didn't really believe them until a few nights ago – and now, of course." He looked between the two.

"Felix, just leave," Lucas warned, stepping in front of Brooke slightly. Felix smirked.

"You know, I heard a lot about you both. Seems to me like you're both legends around Tree Hill. Brooke is the Queen Slut about town and Lucas is the bastard son of Dan Scott." Felix enjoyed seeing the way Lucas tensed as he tried not to lose his temper. He could make out Brooke holding onto Lucas' jacket to try and prevent him from doing anything stupid.

"I also found out about that whole drama last year and quite frankly, it surprises me that she'd go back to you. I mean, I know what Brooke and I had wasn't perfect, but to end up with the one person that broke her heart is… unbelievable, really. After all, Lucas, you did cheat on her with her best friend."

"And you'd prefer she be with a jerk-off like you? She's better than that," Lucas told him firmly, "and we're friends"

"Well we're friends-with-benefits. I guess I win. So, if you don't mind unhanding her-"

"Why so you can carry on beating her?" Lucas snapped. Felix laughed.

"Is that the crap she's been spewing? I never touched her"

"The bruises suggest otherwise" Lucas narrowed his eyes and met Felix's gaze. He could sense Felix was about to boil over and he only hoped he could protect Brooke if anything went down.

As predicted, Felix lunged at Lucas and Lucas met him halfway. The two tumbled to the ground and Brooke only watched helplessly as the two exchanged punches and kicks. She saw Felix manage to elbow Lucas in the cheek and use the opportunity to gain the advantage as he proceeded to kick Lucas repeatedly in the stomach.

Unable to take it any longer, Brooke reached for the first piece of clothing and yanked it up with all her might, not caring whether it was Lucas or Felix, as long as they were separated. She pulled and the owner of the sweater she pulled turned around and looked at her, hitting her across the face. She yelped in pain and let go, realising it had been Felix. Lucas saw the hit and overcome with new rage, he pushed Felix off him, before climbing to his feet.

They two panted and stared at each other. Brooke, nursing a red cheek, came to Lucas' side and stopped him from attacking Felix again.

"Stop it!" she yelled at the two, "just stop!" Lucas nodded, not wanting to fight again.

"Lucas needs to be saved by a girl? That is so lame" Felix said almost gleefully.

Brooke whipped around and faced him.

"Shut up, Felix. I've had it with you being around here all the time, torturing my friends and the people I care about. No wonder you move a lot. Nobody can stand you,"

"Brooke…"

"No, listen to me. I can just about put up with you hitting me, in fact, I did until Lucas saved my sorry ass. But when you start to hit my friends and hurt them, then you're in trouble. What the hell did you do to Peyton?"

"I didn't do anything to Peyton" Felix was silenced by a force that hit him across his cheek. He fell backwards and groaned in pain. Felix looked up to see Brooke standing over him, trying not to let the pain in her hand show. Lucas looked equally as shocked. Neither of them had seen Brooke hit anyone before.

"The truth, Felix, now!" she demanded, her throbbing hand poise for another shot.

"Fine! Anna and I were going to spread some stupid rumours around school. That's all. Happy?"

"No. That punch was for Lucas and Peyton," Brooke said as she hit him again, "this one is for all the crap you put me through," she hit him once again, "and this is for messing up Lucas' house, which, by the way, you will pay for."

Lucas grabbed one of Brooke's arms and gently edged her away. Although enjoying watching Brooke beat the crap out of Felix, he knew that Brooke's hand was hurting and that she'd regret it when she couldn't hold her pom poms in the morning.

"Leave us alone, Felix. Every single one of us, 0r I swear to God you will regret it. I'm sick of you and Anna and the way you breeze through school thinking you own it,"

"Or what? You'll tell everyone how I hit you?"

"No, I'll do something worse. I'll tell them I hit you. I'll have the proof tomorrow morning when I see your ugly face all purple and gross" she finished off.

She let Felix rise to his feet and the two looked at each other before Brooke sighed, "Are you going to get out of my face or do we need to go over this again?" she asked. Felix scowled at the cheerleader and Lucas before slouching off into the distance.

When all was clear, Lucas turned to Brooke, "Are you okay? That was… well, that was impressive."

"I'm fine. Can we go home?"

"Yeah, it's getting pretty late"

"It's not that. My hand really hurts. That was the first time I ever punched someone."

"It was also your second and third," Lucas chuckled. Brooke smiled slightly before narrowing her eyes.

"Your lip is bleeding," she said looking Lucas up and down and seeing how he was slightly bent over, "he hurt you bad"

"I'll get over it. Won't be able to play basketball for a couple of weeks, but it was worth it just to see you beat him."

"Yeah, it was wasn't it?" Brooke grinned for the first time, "come on, let's get you home" she put a supportive arm around Lucas and the two limped slowly home.

**To be continued…**


	6. Unity

**Author's Note: **Apologies for the delay in the update. I had exams all through January and there were other fics and projects I was working on that had to be done before this. Plus, I rewrote this chapter three times before I decided to go in a whole new direction. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Chapter 6: Unity**

The next morning Brooke rose early. The previous night, she had helped Lucas clean up after the fight and the two had quickly fallen asleep on his bed as they realised just how exhausted they were.

Brooke changed into some clean clothes – she could grab a shower at Peyton's – and watched Lucas sleep. She grimaced as she noted the bruises on his ribs from where Felix had kicked him. Brooke and Lucas had argued over whether Lucas should get X-rayed and make sure no ribs were broken, but Lucas told her that they were harmless bruises that would heal in a couple of weeks.

He also had attained bruises and cuts on his face, which Brooke placed band-aids on if needed. She sighed quietly as she wrote a quick note explaining she was at Peyton's and he was to pick them up before school.

She placed a quick kiss on his forehead and slipped out the back door, deciding that it would be best to walk the short distance. At 5am, no-one would be up and Brooke enjoyed the fresh air.

Brooke knocked on Peyton's door before finding the spare key blue-tacked onto the doorframe and letting herself in.

"Yo, P. Sawyer!" she unapologetically yelled as she bounded up the stairs. She jumped on Peyton's bed, startling the blonde.

"Brooke… what are you doing here?" Peyton asked as she settled back into bed. Brooke tucked herself into the covers next to her friend.

"I made a promise to my bestest friend that I would be here before school, and I am," Brooke explained.

"Brooke, it's 5.15am. School doesn't start for almost another two hours."

"True. But I wanted to see you. We haven't talked to each other in weeks!" Brooke reminded her.

"I'll talk to you later." Peyton said as she pulled the covers over her head.

"Not so fast, missy. You and I need some time to chat and we're going to do it now!" Brooke pulled the covers back and Peyton groaned, finally relenting.

"Fine! I'm not going to get any sleep with you around anyway," she sat up in her bed and faced her friend who just grinned. "I just… I don't know how to tell you without upsetting you, or hurting you, or making you angry."

"Peyton, you know you can tell me _anything_, okay? I'm your best friend." Peyton nodded and sighed.

"Okay. First off, I want to apologise to you for my behaviour last night. I know all you, Lucas and Nathan were doing was trying to take care of me and I kind of acted… mean and bitchy."

"Totally forgotten about." Brooke told her, "all I care about is that you can tell me now"

Peyton gave Brooke a grateful smile before beginning, "Last night Felix and Anna threatened to spread some rumours around school about me."

"What kind of rumours?" Brooke asked.

"That I was gay," Brooke looked a little taken aback by it so Peyton quickly added, "which I'm not, by the way, so don't worry." Brooke's features softened as she realised what Peyton thought.

"Oh no, Peyton! I wasn't stunned by that. I don't care if you're gay, bi or straight; you know that. I was just surprised that you let them get to you." Brooke shuffled on the bed and held Peyton's hands.

"How many times have we heard rumours about either of us? You know that there's some new 'scandal' every week at our school and they're never true."

"That's not the point, Brooke. They had evidence."

"Evidence? How could they have evidence of you?" Brooke asked.

"Anna kissed me and Felix took a photo," Peyton explained as she saw Brooke's mouth and eyes widen in disbelief.

"Serious?" Peyton nodded, "Maybe Anna is gay" Brooke suggested. Peyton shrugged.

"I don't know. And I don't care. The fact is that if I go to school today, those pictures will be everywhere and I don't have the strength to defend myself. How can I compete with photographic evidence?"

Brooke thought for a moment and looked down at Peyton's hands, noticing for the first time the bluish ring around her wrist.

"How did you get that?" Brooke questioned running a finger gently over it. Peyton immediately retracted her hand away, "Peyton!"

"Don't worry about it."

"No, I am worrying about it because I have my own cuts and bruises from a certain stain of an ex-boyfriend, not to mention the fact Lucas has too! Did Felix do it?" Brooke asked. Peyton merely nodded, "What? I'm going to kill him…"

"Brooke, calm down. It's nothing really. Not compared to what happened to you. He just grabbed my wrist when I was at your house getting some clothes for you. I managed to get away and it seems to be healing."

"That's so not the point, Peyton. Why didn't you tell me?" Peyton turned away from Brooke and got off the bed.

"Because…" she began, "you had your own problems with him and I didn't want to be a burden"

"You could never be a burden. You know that if I had a problem, I'd come to you,"

"But you didn't, Brooke!" Peyton almost yelled, "You went to Lucas. I didn't even know until he told me. You've spent the last few nights at his house and you know that you could have come here. And you didn't."

Brooke suddenly felt guilty as she realised she'd unknowingly kept her best friend out of her life, especially when she needed help.

"Peyton, I'm sorry. I didn't know what was going through my head at the time. I didn't tell Lucas, he found out on his own. And so I figured since Lucas already knew, he could keep me safe. I was just too ashamed to tell anyone that Brooke Davis was being beaten up by her boyfriend. I really am sorry," she apologised.

Now it was Peyton's turn to feel guilty as she accused Brooke of being a bad friend.

"I'm sorry too," Peyton said. Brooke laughed as she struggled to stop the tears that threatened to fall.

"Look at us. P. Sawyer and Brooke Davis crying over some bastard who had the nerve to hit them. We shouldn't be doing this. We should be stronger. We _are_stronger than this."

Peyton nodded in return and hugged Brooke.

"Go take a shower and get ready. We're both going to school today and we're going to face Felix and Anna and show them who the boss is. Nobody gets away with hurting my best friend"

"Ditto." Peyton smiled as she bounded off into the bathroom in high spirits.

Brooke watched and felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. As she picked up the phone and dialled a number, she smiled. This was one day Felix would never forget.

-

Lucas knocked on Nathan's door twice before ringing the doorbell. Eventually a sleepy Nathan opened the door.

"Dude, it's 6am. What are you doing here? And what happened to your face?"

"I'll tell you later. Brooke called. She found out what happened to Peyton." Lucas said as he closed the door behind him and sat down on Nathan's couch.

"Oh, right. What was wrong?" Nathan asked as he pulled on a t-shirt. Lucas was about to talk when Haley walked out of the bathroom.

"Hey, Luke. What are you doing here?" she questioned, surprised to see her best friend at her house so early in the morning.

"Visiting my little brother and sis-in-law. Haven't seen you around lately." Lucas commented. Haley looked guiltily at Nathan and then at Lucas.

"I've been working."

"Oh right… your music. How is it going?" Lucas asked casting a discreet glance at Nathan.

"It's okay. I'm going to make breakfast. Want some?" Lucas nodded and watched as Haley disappeared into the kitchen area.

"Nice" Nathan said as sat next to Lucas.

"This Chris thing has really driven a wedge between you, hasn't it?" Lucas said, more of a statement than a question.

"Yeah, well, we don't seem to see eye to eye when it comes to Mr Rock Star. I'm fed up of him putting ideas into her head. She's better off without him."

"At least it's nothing to do with Felix. You should count yourself lucky." Lucas sighed.

"What's he done now?"

"Apparently everything. He hurt Peyton and he and Anna are supposed to be spreading lesbian rumours about Peyton today," Lucas explained.

"So, it's only rumours. No big deal."

"Well, Felix has… photographic evidence of Peyton and Anna."

"Whoa, what now?"

"It's not what it looks like, really. Anna and Felix planned it so it looked like Peyton was kissing Anna. It's complicated."

"So I see," Nathan said dryly. At that point Haley came with a plate of toast in her hand and placed it on the coffee table.

"What's going on?" she asked when she saw the looks on their faces. As Lucas filled Haley in, in between bites of toast, while Nathan grabbed a quick shower.

Just as he emerged with fresh clothes on, Lucas was coming to the end of the story.

"I can't believe Felix would do that to Brooke. And those rumours about Peyton? How long has this been going on?"

"Almost a week."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You would have known about it if you bothered to spend more time at home." Nathan commented. Haley cast a glance at her husband.

"I'm sorry, but Chris and I are working on something, he says that I could further my career if I stuck with him."

"I'm sure he does." Nathan said, choosing not to look his wife in the eye. Haley opened her mouth to say something but Nathan interrupted with a question for Lucas, "So what's going to happen?"

Lucas looked between the two before answering, "Uh...well, Brooke says she has a plan. We've got to go to Peyton's as soon as possible and she'll fill us in. Are we ready?" he asked. Nathan and Haley nodded and grabbed their coats as Lucas told them he'd be in the car.

As he left the apartment, he let out a deep breath. The honeymoon was really over for the newlyweds.

-

At roughly 7am, twenty minutes before lessons began, two cars pulled up side by side in the car park. The rest of the students watched as five teenagers climbed out of the vehicles. Brooke has decided to not cover up her bruises and opted for light, subtle make-up instead. Proudly bearing her battle scars, along with Peyton and Lucas, she led the group into the school.

She could already hear the students gossiping about her appearance and it made her hold her head that much higher. Carefully wedged in between Lucas and Peyton, with Nathan on Peyton's side and Haley on Lucas'.

They quickly spotted Felix and Anna by Peyton's locker. When the siblings saw the gang approach them, Felix immediately rolled his eyes.

"What is this?" he asked as Brooke stood in front of him. He tried not to show his discomfort and smirked at them instead, "You trying to be like the Power Rangers or something?"

Brooke ignored his comment, "I know what you're trying to do, Felix, and we're here to stop it because, frankly, we've had it with you."

"Sorry, Pink Ranger, but I have no idea what you're talking about."

Brooke sighed and put her hands on her hips, "I think you do, Felix. Are you telling me you weren't going to spread rumours about my best friend around the school?" she motioned to Peyton.

"Who says they're not true?"

"It doesn't matter if they are or not. The point is, we know your game and we're sick of it. We realise that you're new, and stupid, but this isn't how we do things in Tree Hill. If you want to spread rumours, you need proof."

"I have proof."

"What's your point? You think people are going to care about anything that comes out of the mouth of a woman beater?"

There was a collective gasp from the student body that had crowded around to see what was going on.

"That's right. I have the proof right here," she pointed to her face, "and there," Peyton exposed her wrist, "and of course, your newest venture, Lucas." Lucas pointed to his face and then lifted up his shirt slightly so people could see the bruises there.

Felix's eyes narrowed and Anna looked at him.

"Felix? Did you really-" she began. He silenced her by putting a hand in front of her face.

"That's stupid. No one is going to believe that I did it. It's just my word against yours."

"I would have believed that a few days ago when I thought I was alone. But I'm not. I don't have to be weak, because I'm not weak. I know that no-one, whether a man or a woman or a child, should ever put up with somebody who makes them feel weak. Who hits them because it's fun, or because they like to have that kind of power."

Brooke stared at Felix right in the eyes and inched closer to his face, tip-toeing slightly so she was level with him.

"I thought that it was me who had a problem, but I realise now that it's you who has a problem. A big one. And you better sort it out before you really get yourself into trouble." Brooke told him.

Felix's jaw tightened as he realised that everyone was now looking at him.

"This isn't over," he warned Brooke.

"Yes it is," she replied. Everyone watched as Felix made his way through the crowd and stormed out of the school. Anna stared after him and was about to follow her brother when Brooke stopped her.

"Anna," Anna turned around to face the five people standing in front of her, "I know what you and Felix tried to do to Peyton,"

Anna looked guiltily at her feet and was grateful that the crowd was now dispersing.

"I had no idea what he did to you. Any of you," she apologised. She opened her bag and retrieved an envelope, "here you go" she said, handing it to Peyton, "That's all the pictures. I… I really didn't want to go through with it but I was so mad at Lucas and Brooke and then when Felix told me that Peyton was in on it too, I felt… betrayed," she explained.

Peyton accepted the envelope gratefully.

"I'm going to see if Felix is okay. I'm really sorry," Anna apologised again as she turned away from the group and left the school.

Brooke let out a deep breath and faced her friends.

"How do you feel?" she asked Peyton. Peyton grinned.

"A lot better, thanks to you, B. Davis. How about you?" she asked linking arms with her best friend. Brooke shrugged.

"Better. Felt nice to tell him off but… I'm just glad I have my friend back." She hugged Peyton, "shall we burn those?" she asked gesturing to the photos in her hand. Peyton nodded. "Cool. Then I suggest we get together at the beach and have ourselves a little victory party. What do you think?"

The group nodded and Nathan suggested sleeping over at the beach house, which seemed to delight everyone.

"Then it's settled, we'll meet at 6pm and I'm counting on everybody to attend. Even you, Tutor Girl," she said to Haley, who blushed slightly. "Come on, Broody," Brooke said to Lucas as she left Peyton's side and linked her arms with his, "It's time for English."

Nathan kissed Haley on the cheek before joining Peyton on their way to Study Hall. Haley opened her locker to grab some books. As she did, she noticed a piece of paper that had been stuffed through the locker. She read the note from Chris, asking her to come down to the studio to work on their demo at 6pm.

She let out a deep sigh. Nathan wasn't going to be very happy and since they were already having problems due to the excessive times she seemed to be spending with Chris, this would only drive a deeper wedge in between the two.

**To be continued…**

**Coming up:  
**- The beach party.  
- Nathan and Haley fight.  
- Brooke and Lucas talk


	7. Unwind

**Chapter 7: Unwind**

Brooke felt a lot happier after the confrontation with Felix that morning. Although at first she'd been a little hesitant to explain to people what happened when they questioned her appearance, Lucas was on hand to help her avoid some of the more personal questions.

However, by the time lunch came around, she was tired of the questions and ended up slipping into the nearest restroom to apply some cover up. She knew that it wouldn't cover up the gossip, but at least she could get by knowing that she'd faced her fear, looked it into the eye and told it to buzz off.

And she had done it proudly.

Brooke was in even higher spirits when she saw Peyton grinning.

"Hey friend," she said sliding into her seat, "how do you feel?" she asked as she opened her yogurt.

"I feel mighty fine. How about you?" Peyton answered, Brooke shrugged.

"Like things are back to normal. I like normal."

They laughed and greeted Lucas and Nathan as they joined them at the table.

"Ready for tonight?" Brooke asked taking a bite of her yogurt. Lucas nodded enthusiastically and then glanced at Nathan who didn't give a reply.

"What about you, Nathan?" Brooke questioned.

"I'm up for it, it's just Haley."

"Tutor Girl?"

"She just told me she's got to go to the studio and lay down some tracks with Chris."

"That's not all she's laying down," Brooke said a little louder than intended. Peyton kicked her and she apologised, "Sorry, joking."

Nathan shook his head, "It just seems like she's spending more time with Chris than with me. She was late for formal because of it and," he sighed, "it's like he's stealing my wife."

"I wouldn't worry, Nathan. Haley has a good head on her shoulders and you should trust her. She doesn't want guys like Chris." Peyton assured him.

"I do trust her. I don't trust Chris. We don't know anything about him except he's arrogant and rude and-"

"Just like you?" Brooke offered, earning a look from Nathan. "All I'm saying is that maybe the reason you don't like him is because he's just like you. Tutor Girl is only spending so much time with him because he can help her with her music. Because I've spent all of five minutes with the guy and that was more than enough for me. Peyton's spent time with Chris and hated him from the minute he pouted at her. So don't worry," Brooke told Nathan.

"I know, I know but she doesn't Chris. You've all heard what she can do,"

"Yeah but our faith in her doesn't mean she has faith in herself. If Chris hadn't refused to play at Tric's opening night, then Haley wouldn't have gone up there. Without Chris, she'd never have even entered a studio. Not that I'm saying she needs him, but she does need someone other than her husband and her friends telling her she's good. Some outside influence is good for people. For example, say if we told you that you were a brilliant basketball player and could turn pro, what would you think?" Brooke asked.

Nathan shrugged, "Uh, thanks, I guess. But I always hear it from you guys anyway."

"But if, say, some basketball scout or whatever told you the same thing, what would you think then?"

Nathan sighed and nodded his head, understanding where this was going, "I'd take it seriously and think I was. I get it. Thanks Brooke."

Brooke smiled proudly.

"That was actually some good advice, Brooke. Well done," Lucas said, surprisingly amazed by Brooke's ability to get some sense into his brother.

"I know," she said, her smile growing wider, "Now that the marriage crisis is over, can we talk about tonight?"

"What about it?"

"Well we need some supplies. Peyton, you grab some music-"

"Not that emo crap she listens to all the time!" Nathan complained.

"Hey, I like that emo crap!" Lucas defended.

"Yeah, well, you would." Nathan sighed.

"Like I was saying, Peyton is on music duty. Nathan and Lucas, you're job is to go get some alcohol."

"My dad has a cupboard full of-"

"No offence, Nate, but I've seen it and it's kind of 'old man'-ish. I know a place downtown that will get us some stuff cheap."

"Whose going to sell alcohol to two 16 year old boys?" Lucas questioned. Brooke smiled and produced two pieces of card from her purse.

"Here you go. Freshly made when I skipped History this morning. Here's the address," she said handing them another piece of paper, "and we'll meet at the beach house at 6pm."

"What will you be doing?" Peyton asked.

"I'll be… taking care of food. Just leave it to me. Oh, and we are keeping this a small affair. Sort of like a slumber party." Brooke explained.

"I'm sorry, can I get that again? Brooke Davis is hosting a _small _beach party?" Peyton chuckled until she was met with a glare, "No, I mean, small is fine with me. Whatever you want."

"Remember," Brooke said finally, "6 pm sharp."

* * *

"Where the hell is Brooke?" Lucas asked Peyton as she helped Nathan and Lucas with the alcohol.

"I was just about to ask you that question," Peyton replied. "I've been standing out here for ten minutes. Nathan, do you have the key?" she asked.

Nathan nodded and produced the key to his dad's beach house.

"Where's Haley?" Peyton questioned realising that they were missing someone. Nathan gave a shrug.

"She's supposed to be here."

"Maybe she's with Brooke." Lucas offered.

"Maybe she's with Chris," Nathan said bitterly, "Let's just get inside." Nathan moved forward to unlock the door and Peyton and Lucas exchanged worried glances.

They helped each other bring the alcohol and stack of CDs inside, along with some extra blankets and pillows.

"Brooke is officially twenty minutes late." Peyton complained, "I'm calling her."

"No need," Lucas said from the window, "I just saw her car pull up. I'm going down to help her," he said practically running out of the door.

Peyton smirked, amused by Lucas' excitement, "Somebody's in a hurry. You think there's something going on with them?" she asked Nathan, who gave another non-committal shrug.

"Nate…" Peyton said softly, "She _does _love you. Don't doubt her feelings for you. This is Haley we're talking about."

"Yeah, well I'll believe it when she's here to tell me that herself." Nathan got up and made himself a drink, "Want one?" he offered. Peyton shook her head. "Suit yourself."

Peyton sighed realising that once Haley did show, it was not going to be pretty. Thankfully Brooke and Lucas were here to help her out.

"Where have you been?" Peyton asked once Brooke got through the front door.

"I was at the café whipping up some food for us. And I brought some ingredients so you and I can make chocolate fudge shortcake." Brooke grinned, "Oh, and Haley's picking up some more food and movies"

"You saw her?" Nathan asked. Brooke nodded.

"Yeah, she says she'll be here soon – once she's finished with Chris. Don't worry about it," she told Nathan, "But until then – everyone help themselves. Lucas and Nathan can go out to the beach and set up a camp fire, and we'll join you with the food, drink and music," she instructed.

* * *

Lucas and Nathan watched the two girls run around the beach trying to chase each other. Brooke pushed Peyton playfully in the sand and run off, only to stumble and fall over, letting Peyton manage to take the advantage and push Brooke into the water.

"Think we should stop them before somebody gets hurt?" Lucas asked. His brother shook his head.

"Wait until they're wet. I hear white clothes go see-through." Lucas chuckled.

"You have a wife," he told Nathan.

"Do you see her anywhere?" Nathan asked, "Sorry," he apologised when he saw Lucas shake his head, "I just miss her."

"Have you told her that? Or have you just told her that you hate her spending time with Chris? Nathan, Haley probably thinks that you just hate Chris and not that you miss her."

"I do hate Chris."

"But the important thing is that you miss her, which is the point you have to get across if you want her to stop spending so much time with him."

Nathan sighed, "She's late, you know. It's 8pm now and she still hasn't shown."

"Yeah," Lucas said. He'd noticed Haley's absence but hadn't made it known as he didn't want to irritate his brother. "I kind of hoped you hadn't noticed."

"I always notice because she's always late." Nathan complained.

About ten minutes later, Haley finally arrived, apologising profusely for her tardiness. Nathan refused to look her in the eye and only gave a small shrug when she appeared, before getting back to playing PlayStation with Lucas.

They'd abandoned the beach for a little while as it got colder and Peyton and Brooke were both soaked from pushing each other in the sea. Brooke and Peyton took Haley into the kitchen as they made cakes.

"What took you so long?" Brooke asked, keeping her voice intentionally quiet.

"Uh… Chris wouldn't let me leave without perfecting the vocals."

"You could have just left, you know. I'm sure he wouldn't have minded if you'd left early and continued tomorrow."

"Peyton, do you know how hard it is to book studio time? And in the real world you can't just leave a studio session."

"But you can leave your husband?" Brooke asked, garnering a look from Haley, "No offence, Tutor Wife, but you're not a world-famous singer who has to produce a million albums. Not yet. Right now you have a husband and high school to get through and as I see it; you're neglecting both."

"Am not," Haley muttered. Peyton backed up her friend.

"It's true, Hales. You're spending so much time with Chris that I bet you're hardly finding the time to do your homework. What did you get on that pop quiz in English?"

"That's not the point. Chris could really help me get far in my career."

"You're only sixteen, you're not allowed a career yet." Brooke told her. "Look, you can hate us for having our own opinions about this, but right now, you have a marriage to fix."

"Me? Nathan's the one who's not supportive!"

"Haley, he bought you a keyboard! He stood in the front row when you played at Tric and he's attended every one of your shows since. How can you even say that?" Peyton told her.

"Look, I'm sorry we all seem to be going on at you about this, but Nathan's been miserable lately and I really think you need to talk to him." Brooke continued.

Haley looked at her two friends and then at her husband, who was busy keeping his eyes on the game, "Maybe you're right. I'm going to go talk to him." Haley excused herself and made her way to Nathan, interrupting his game. Lucas decided to leave them alone and joined Peyton and Brooke in the kitchen.

"So, they're talking?" Lucas asked the two as he took a lick of some melted chocolate. Brooke slapped his hand away and nodded.

"Yup. I'm going back out on the beach, coming?" she asked Peyton and Lucas.

Peyton shook her head, "I'm going to stay here just in case there are fireworks from the not-so-newlyweds."

"Lucas?" Brooke asked. Lucas thought about it for a moment and nodded. Peyton gave him a friendly wink as he followed Brooke outside.

They sat on the sand, watching the small camp fire dance around in the night, making small talk and wondering how Haley and Nathan were getting on.

"My parents called," Brooke said suddenly. Lucas looked at her.

"Really? What happened?"

"They just wanted to let me know they're coming home tomorrow morning. They want to see me and talk about stuff."

"How long have they been away again?"

"About a month. They went… I don't even know where. But money is starting to get tight and so I guess they'll be staying here for a while."

Lucas nodded, "Does that mean you'll be moving back home?"

Brooke shrugged, "Probably. I haven't told them about what happened with Felix."

"Why not?" Lucas asked.

"I didn't want to worry them. They said they left a load of messages on the answerphone this week that I didn't answer. I just told them I'd been staying at Peyton's while her dad was away."

"Oh," Lucas seemed disappointed that she hadn't mentioned him.

"How am I going to tell them, Lucas? I mean, how can I tell them that our next-door neighbour's son hit me? They don't even know we were dating."

"Just tell them. You don't even have to mention him by name if you don't want to. Anyway, you still have bruises and cuts so unless they're blind, they're going to wonder what's happened."

"I guess you're right. I just… I don't want them to think I'm not capable of being left alone. That I'm weak."

"But you're not weak, Brooke. You stood up to him in front of the whole school." Lucas reminded her of her earlier victory.

"I guess." Brooke said resting her head on Lucas' shoulder. "Did I thank you?"

"For what?"

"Everything?"

"You don't need to, Brooke." Lucas told her as they watched the fire slowly die out.

"Lucas?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

**To Be Continued…**


	8. Decisions

**A/N: **Okay, I _swear_ I wrote this chapter _before_ Tuesday's episode. For some reasn, my fanfics sometimes predict future occurences in TV shows. It's totally not my fault. Although it does make me laugh when it happens. Enjoy the chapter anyway.

**Chapter 8: Decisions**

Lucas awoke slowly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and shifting uncomfortably. As he opened his eyes, he squinted, a heavy burst of light overcoming his senses. He waited until he was properly adjusted to the new element and looked up, shielding the light with his hand.

Seagulls.

He groaned and he propped himself up on the sand and looked out to the sea. It was still early as the beach was relatively empty. He looked at his watch. 8.30am.

Lucas noticed that Brooke wasn't by his side and was kind of disappointed. He sat out on the beach for a further five minutes before gathering up his belongings and making his way to the beach house.

The smell of pancakes hit him before anything else.

"Good morning," Haley greeted from the kitchen as he walked in.

"Morning." Lucas greeted with a slight yawn. Nathan looked up sleepily from the couch where he'd slept and Peyton had just come out of the shower.

"There you are," she grinned knowingly, "we were wondering when you were going to wake up."

"You left me out there all night?" Lucas asked.

"Well, you and Brooke looked pretty cosy so we figured we'd leave you two to do your thing." Nathan replied as he got up, "I'm going to hit the shower."

"Where is Brooke?" Lucas asked, scanning the living room.

"Oh, she left about 6am. Said she was meeting her parents or something. Did she tell you about that?" Peyton asked Lucas. Lucas nodded in reply as he sat down on the space Nathan just vacated.

"I have nice hot pancakes coming up, plus lots of food is leftover from last night so help yourselves," Haley told them, "Trust Brooke to convince us to go to a slumber party on a school night,"

"It's Friday so it doesn't matter. I think I'm going to take the day off and… sleep," Peyton said picking on some chips. Haley agreed.

"Sounds like a plan. I think I'll drop in on Brooke later on," Lucas mused.

"You and Brooke seem to be getting close. Anything we should know?" Peyton asked.

"Nah. We're just friends." Lucas said trying to sound okay about it.

"Of course you are. That is why you've practically spent each and every day this week joined to the hip, right? I bet you already miss her,"

"She's not going anywhere, okay. And we are just friends. I don't… she doesn't want a relationship so soon after Felix. It's hard for her to trust someone again," Lucas told them.

"She trusts you," Haley pointed out. "Shouldn't that mean something?"

* * *

Brooke sighed deeply as she sullenly painted her nails. A couple of tears fell from her cheeks and hit her knee. 

She was interrupted from her thoughts as a knock came from her door.

"I'm not here!" she shouted.

"It's Lucas."

"Oh," Brooke got up from her bed and opened the door to allow Lucas entry, "Hey, I was going to call you but I just got caught up,"

"Don't worry about it," Lucas said before pausing and listening to the music flowing from the CD Player, "Is this… is this Pachabel?"

Brooke blushed as she nodded her head and turned off the CD Player.

"You listen to classical music?"

"Not all the time. This piece is my favourite, I just love listening to it when I need to think,"

"Canon in D, right?" Lucas asked. Brooke nodded, "Have you been crying?" Lucas moved to wipe the tear tracks off her cheek but Brooke moved away first, wiping them idly with her fingers.

"It makes me cry," she told him before clearing her throat, "You're not at school?"

Lucas shook his head, "Nah. Thanks to your little slumber party, all of us woke up late and decided to skip school. Why aren't you in?"

"Didn't feel like it," Brooke told him, "What have you been up to today then?"

"Nothing much, just clearing up the beach house. We're all heading out to Nathan's for a while. Do you want to come?"

Brooke shook her head, "I don't really feel like it. I thought I'd catch up on some sleep."

"That's what we were planning to do at Nate's anyway, just veg out. You should come." Lucas tried to convince her but to no avail.

"I'm sorry, Lucas, I really don't feel up to it right now," Brooke apologised. Lucas paused for a moment and sat on her bed.

"Look, I didn't want to say anything because it's really not my business to know, but… is everything okay with your parents? I mean, did you tell them about Felix?"

Brooke took in a deep breath, realising that she may as well confide in Lucas now that he was here and already involved in everything.

"I did."

"What happened? Why are you so upset?" Lucas asked, "You know you can tell me anything," he added after seeing her hesitation.

"Ok, um. My parents came home this morning and before I could even tell them about Felix, they told me that…"

"What?" Lucas asked after Brooke trailed off slightly. He rubbed her leg reassuringly and Brooke looked up at him, fresh tears filling her eyes, "What is it?"

"Lucas…" she began before inhaling deeply, "They're leaving."

Lucas frowned as he tried to understand what Brooke just told him.

"What?" he said, "Are they going on another vacation?" he asked hopefully. Brooke shook her head.

"No, Lucas, they're _leaving_. As in, moving away from Tree Hill."

"For how long?" Brooke shrugged.

"For good, I guess. I don't know," Brooke sighed.

"Well, are you going with them?" Lucas asked, still in shock from what he heard.

"I don't know," she said again, "I mean, I came home and they were already here and talking about something. For once I was actually glad they weren't yelling at each other. They told me that with money so tight, they're going to have to sell the house,"

"But that doesn't mean you have to leave Tree Hill."

"My dad got a job in New Bern and the company are going to give him a house for us. It is really good money and it could mean that we don't have so many money problems anymore,"

"So you are leaving." Lucas looked down at his feet.

"I don't know yet. I'm still talking things through with them. Tree Hill is my life and I love it here. But they're my parents and they need me. After I told them about Felix, they told me that that was even more of a reason to go. It means a new start for us all. It could be a really good move."

"New Bern… that's kind of far,"

"Not as far as Charleston," she tried to joke, "It's about two hours away, give or take."

"Do you _want_ to move?" Lucas asked tentatively.

"As I said, I don't know," she groaned in frustration as she flopped onto the bed, "God, I hate this. I hate having to decide,"

"It's better than having no choice. Would you have preferred it if they _made _you go? Maybe you can talk about it and find… find a way to stay."

"Yeah," Brooke said softly before she sat up on the bed, "Lucas," she reached out and held his hand, "I know you want to help but I think I'd rather be alone for a while. Just to think and talk to my parents."

Lucas nodded, "Just call if you need anything, even if it's just to yell or something."

"You're a good friend, you know that?" Brooke told him when they were at her door, "I mean, usually I'd go to Peyton with all this stuff and considering my history with you, I figured you'd be the last one to be there for me," she laughed slightly, "Funny how things work out, right? Just when things are getting back to normal…" she stopped where she was and sighed, "Anyway, you should go to Tutor Girl's house. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Lucas asked, not convinced by the nod Brooke gave. "I'll see you," he pressed his lips to her forehead and laid a small kiss before leaving her alone.

Brooke watched him leave from her window and began to cry.

She knew that there'd be no return to normal. At least not for her.

* * *

Haley watched her husband from the doorway of their bedroom. She could make out most of him as he played the PlayStation in the living room. Haley brushed though her wet hair as she wondered just how much PlayStation one guy could play. Since she'd moved in with him, she'd realised that he spent most of his evenings and weekends glued to it, especially if they'd splurged out on a new game. 

In the recent weeks, Nathan had started spending more time playing the PlayStation, leaving Haley to almost resort to nagging him to do chores or other things around the house.

When they'd have an argument, usually about Chris, he'd stop the argument by starting up a game and ignoring her, which irritated Haley.

She knew her marriage was in crisis, but she had never realised just how many of their problems had stemmed from her collaboration with Chris.

He looked up from his game, catching sight of Haley's stare and gave her a small smile, which she duly returned, before getting back to his game. They'd talked argued for a while at the beach house last night before Peyton had stepped in.

She sat them both down and made them _talk_ to each other, beginning with Nathan. Haley had been surprised to hear that, although he didn't like Chris, it wasn't his biggest problem.

He missed her.

He explained how much he missed seeing her at dinner, or walking home after school, or just lazing around on the couch. How he missed watching her do her homework, and the way she bit her lip when she was stuck on a question.

And she hadn't realised just how much she missed him too.

Haley sighed as she turned away from Nathan and walked into their bedroom, shutting the door behind her. She dialled a number on her cellphone and waited for it to pick up.

"Hey,"

"Hi. What are you up to?" she asked into the phone

"I'm heading over to the studio now. Will I see you there?"

"Uh, actually you won't, Chris."

"Can't you make it? Haley, I booked this studio time so we could work on our duet today. We need to get it perfect."

"Chris, there's not going to be a duet and I'm not coming to the studio anymore. Ever," she told him, waiting to hear him explode with anger.

"What the… Haley! This is important, okay? I need your vocals, you _need_ me."

"I thought I did, Chris, but I don't. I mean, you've been really helpful to me but I don't think I want to work with you anymore," she told him truthfully.

"Why?" Chris asked, angry at the girl.

"Because I'm in love with my husband." Chris laughed on the other end.

"I get it, he wants to stop you following your dream cos he can't handle the fact that his gorgeous wife is spending time with someone who could make them come true. You really want this guy to stop you from becoming the person you could be?"

"Chris, I'm sixteen years old, I- I have plenty of time to follow my dream and I know Nathan will support me whatever I choose to do. I don't need this right now, I could flunk out of school if I'm not careful."

"Who needs school when you're as talented as you are? Come on, Haley, try and see what he's trying to stop you from achieving! He's trying to control you."

"No, _you're_ trying to control me. I almost missed my formal because of you. I've had to retake tests and I'm behind in my homework. My marriage is on the brink of destruction because of you and your stupid duet."

"So you're giving it all up? For Nathan?"

"No, I'm giving it up for me. I can make it on my own," Chris scoffed.

"Yeah, keep dreaming, girlie. Fine, you don't want to do this anymore, then don't. You may need me but I sure as hell don't need you. I was going to tell you today that I've been offered the chance to tour in New York. It's a big step, babe, and I was hoping you could join me. The offer is still open. I leave tomorrow night and you could be with me on that bus."

Haley paused and Chris waited patiently for her answer.

"Ok," she said softly.

"So I'll see you on that bus?"

"No, I mean, it's a great opportunity but I don't want it. Not when I could have Nathan instead,"

"Haley…"

"Have a good time in New York, Chris. Just don't hurry back,"

Haley hung up the phone and took a deep breath. It felt good to get rid of the guilt she'd been carrying for a while.

Nathan opened the door slowly.

"Hey," she said when she saw him, "I was just…"

"I know. I heard." Nathan said, "So, Chris is leaving?"

"For New York tomorrow night,"

"He wanted you to go?"

"Uh huh."

"Do you want to go?"

Haley shook her head.

"It would have been nice, but the whole time I would have been thinking of you. When something big like that happens, I don't want to be on my own. I want to see your face looking at me like you do at Tric. I want you to share it with me and that's something that we can look forward to… when we're ready."

"We're not ready now?" Nathan questioned.

"No, our life is just starting. We have plenty of time."

"You don't regret marrying me, do you?"

Haley took Nathan's left hand and ran her thumb across his wedding ring.

"That's the only thing I don't regret. What I do regret is not realising what I was doing to you, to us. I'm sorry, Nate."

Nathan pulled her into a hug, "It's okay, I've got you now and that's all that really matters."

Haley sighed happily, "I like this," she said to her husband before changing her mind, "No, wait, I _love_ this."

Haley and Nathan grinned at each other.

Things were back to normal.

**To Be Continued…**


	9. Choice

**Chapter 9: Choice**

Nathan, Haley, Peyton and Lucas sat in silence. Lucas had just told them about Brooke's predicament and needless to say, they were all stunned.

"Wow," Haley breathed, breaking the silence, "Poor Brooke. She's got to make this big decision all on her own," she shook her head.

"How was she when you spoke to her?" Peyton asked Lucas.

"She was upset, obviously. She's got no clue where to start and I just wish I could do something to help her." Lucas told them putting his head into his hands.

"Well, you can't. None of us can. It's her choice and I guess whatever she does, she loses out. She could go to New Bern with her parents and leave us, or she could stay here and leave her parents. I have to say, I don't envy her right now," Haley sighed putting her head on Nathan's shoulders.

"Peyton, you okay?" Nathan asked noticing that the blonde hadn't spoken since she'd been told. Peyton looked around the group and shrugged.

"I don't know. She's my best friend, you know and I… I hate the thought of her moving away. We've known each other since forever and I always thought we'd be together at least until college. Maybe even after that,"

"Yeah, I know that we've only just bonded into this group of friends, but us without Brooke is like… I don't know… a ship without its captain. It's unthinkable,"

"You never know, she might just decide to stay in Tree Hill. I don't get it, Brooke's parents are hardly ever here and now they just expect her to leave with them now that they don't have any money? It seems selfish to me," Nathan commented, "How many times have we heard Brooke say she hates her parents for never being there?"

"Maybe not expressed in the same way, but yeah, I guess she doesn't really like them all that much," Peyton agreed, hopeful that maybe Brooke wouldn't leave, given her relationship with her parents.

"But it's just principle. If your parents leave, you follow. The fact that they're _asking _Brooke if she wants to go just shows that maybe losing their money has changed them for the better. It's not like they're forcing her to go if she doesn't want to," Lucas explained to the group.

"Look, guys, I hate this as much as anyone else does, but right now, we have to support her. And obviously that involves respecting her decision. I trust Brooke to make the best decision for her and her wellbeing. She'll make the right choice," Peyton said trying to inject some positive atmosphere into the discussion.

"What if she does decide to go?" Haley asked.

* * *

Nobody replied, but instead sat in silence, quietly contemplating a life without their friend.

Brooke waited impatiently at Karen's Café for her friends to arrive. Glancing around the café, she momentarily reminisced over all the events that had happened here, bringing a smile to her face.

"Another coffee?" Karen asked coming over to Brooke. Brooke shook her head.

"No thanks, Karen. I'm just waiting for everyone."

"Okay," Karen smiled, "You look happier,"

"I am. I told Felix off,"

"Lucas told me. I'm proud of you, Brooke. You really stood up for yourself. I never had a doubt in my mind," Brooke grinned.

"Karen? I just wanted to thank you for what you did for me. I don't think I would have got through it if it hadn't have been for you and Lucas. Thank you," Brooke told her, bringing tears to the older woman's eyes, "I bought these for you, it's not much but it's just a little token of gratitude for opening your home up to me," Brooke handed her a wrapped gift. Karen opened it, the gift bringing tears to her eyes.

"Oh Brooke, it's wonderful. I love it. Thank you very much," Karen said as she looked at the antique photo frame Brooke had given her. "You're a strong woman, Brooke. I had no doubt in my mind that you could get through it. Do you know what I love most about you?" Karen asked. Brooke shook her head.

"Your heart. And your energy. You're a wonderful person and I just wish there were more people like you,"

"Thanks Karen. It means a lot," Brooke hugged Karen and watched as Karen took her gift and went back to the counter. She then sighed and waited for her friends to turn up.

Within five minutes, all four of them turned up, a little out of breath.

"Sorry Brooke," Lucas apologised taking a seat next to her, "Peyton's car ran out of gas and so we had to run here,"

"No problem, I was going to call otherwise. Is everyone here?" she looked around as her friends sat in seat around the table, and waited until they caught their breaths.

"Okay," Brooke said taking a deep breath, "I'm not sure if Lucas told you about what's going on or not," she waited for a confirmation, which came in the form of nods, "So you know that my parents want to move to New Bern," she saw another chorus of nods.

"Have you made your decision?" Haley asked tentatively. Brooke nodded.

"I weighed up the pros and cons of both sides. And it was such a hard decision to make because I love you and I love my parents so I was – still am – kind of split down the middle. But the simple fact is… Tree Hill is my life. I have my best friends here, I've made a life here and it's all I've ever really known. I couldn't dream of leaving this place,"

Lucas smiled slightly, Brooke's comment adding hope to her friends.

"Tree Hill is such a secluded area that no-one really knows what's out there. My parents take so many vacations and go from place to place that I've come to rely on the people here to give me a sense of balance and a place that I can call home,"

"So…?" Nathan impatiently implored.

"So, I made my decision," she said looking at all of her friends, "And I've decided… I'm going to move to New Bern with my parents," she announced. "My parents have promised me that they'll try to make up for leaving me all the time and this is such a good opportunity for me to start a new relationship with them. One where they aren't jetting off to an exotic location every other week,"

Lucas felt like somebody had hit him with a ton of bricks. After her speech, he'd assumed that she would be staying put. Her decision had been something that he hadn't expected and didn't know how to take.

Peyton was speechless. She truly couldn't believe what had come out of Brooke's mouth and now she had to accept the fact that her best friend was leaving, only months after patching up their differences.

Haley held tightly onto Nathan's hand, squeezing it as tightly as she could as she tried to stop the tears forming in her eyes. Nathan couldn't really feel the pain. He was too busy trying to digest the information he'd just received.

Brooke looked at their expressions and immediately felt bad.

"Please don't hate me," she said quietly, "I told you that it was a really hard decision to make and I couldn't take it if you all hated me,"

Peyton spoke up first, "Don't be silly, Brooke," she said trying her best to keep her voice normal, "It's just the shock, that's all,"

"Yeah," Haley agreed reaching out to hold Brooke's hand, "It's your decision and if you're happy with it, we're happy. We totally respect your decision… don't we, Nathan?" Haley turned to her husband for support.

Nathan forced out a smile and nodded, "Yeah, totally."

Brooke turned to Lucas, "Lucas?" she asked nervously. Lucas merely looked up at her and nodded.

"Of course," he said. Brooke reached out to touch his arm but he stood up, "I'm going to go get us some drinks. Uh, a toast or something," he excused as he made his way to the counter.

"He hates me," Brooke said before looking at all their faces again, "You all hate me," she sighed.

Peyton put her arms round her best friend, "Nobody hates you. He's just in shock. To be fair, after that speech you made, you did kind of sound like you were staying. It was a little unexpected," Peyton explained.

"Look," Nathan said quickly, "How about we throw a party?"

"You're that excited about me leaving?" Broke tried to tease.

"A going-away party. A little thank you for all you've done. You've thrown us amazing parties,"

"And bachelorette parties!" Haley chimed in.

"You deserve one just for being you. We can hold it in Tric, when do you leave?" Peyton asked.

"Uh… next week," Brooke said. The three tried to disguise their shock.

"That soon?"

"My dad's job starts Monday, we leave Saturday" she explained.

"Okay, well, on the Friday before you leave, we're throwing you a going-away party and there are going to be no arguments about it." Peyton said. "And we won't let you lift a finger so just sit back and relax,"

Brooke smiled, "Thanks guys. You don't know how much this means to me," she said as they got into a group hug.

Lucas watched from behind the counter of the café, still in disbelief. Karen came up behind him.

"Hey Lucas, you okay?" she asked following his gaze to where Brooke was, "What's happening over there?"

Lucas looked down at his mom before replying, "Brooke's going to New Bern,"

"For how long?" Karen questioned.

"For good. She's moving there," Lucas told her before excusing himself and walking out of the café.

Brooke watched him leave and sighed inwardly.

"Don't worry about him," Nathan reassured her, "He'll come around,"

Brooke nodded unconvinced, "Yeah, I know. Look, I have to go and start packing so I'm going to run. Will I see you guys later?"

Peyton, Nathan and Haley nodded and waved Brooke goodbye. When she had gone, the three sat back down in their seats.

"So I guess that's it then," Haley said.

"I can't believe she's going," Peyton added, "Lucas seemed to have taken it badly,"

"That's because he likes her," Nathan commented.

"We all like Brooke," Haley said before realising what her husband meant, "Wait, you mean?" Nathan nodded and Peyton agreed, "Wow, poor Luke," she said finally.

"Well," Peyton said as she stood up, "There's plenty of time for moping later. Right now we have a party to plan. We can't let Brooke Davis leave without a bang,"

**To Be Continued…**


	10. Stay

**Chapter 10: Stay**

The arrangements had all been made and her locker had been cleared out. Brooke Davis walked down the halls of what was her last day at Tree Hill High. She'd passed on her responsibilities as Head Cheerleader onto Peyton and the night before had been her last cheer for the Tree Hill Ravens.

It was all bittersweet really. Brooke was looking forward to moving and she'd enjoyed the attention, cards and presents she'd received from various members of the faculty and other students. The Cheerleaders had given her gold pom-poms, a bouquet of flowers and her uniform signed by all of the squad and basketball team.

She watched as a few students hung up a big banner advertising an upcoming dance. It upset Brooke that she was unable to attend it but she figured that there'd be plenty of dances to attend at her new school in New Bern.

Brooke let out a wistful sigh as she continued to watch them.

"Reminiscing?" Peyton asked as she came up to her departing best friend. She rested her head on Brooke's shoulder.

"I'm just going to miss it. I bet I would have looked cute as Queen," she said. Peyton let out a small chuckle.

"Well at least I'll have a chance this year, Tiara-Hog. How many have you won?" she asked Brooke. Brooke pretended to think.

"Far too many to count, P. Sawyer. My tiara drawer is getting full," she joked, "Actually, it's only three. I was packing them away last night." Brooke explained to Peyton. Peyton put a comforting arm around her friend.

"Well, B. Davis, what are your plans this fine Friday afternoon?" she asked.

"Nothing really. Other than packing up some of my clothes,"

"Wrong!" Peyton announced. Brooke frowned, "Because Haley and I pulled together and we've decided we're going to treat you before your big send-off,"

"Wha-" Brooke started, but before she could say anymore, Peyton produced a blindfold and wrapped it around Brooke's head, "Oh great," Brooke said sarcastically as things became dark, "Surprises. Have I mentioned how I don't like those?" she asked.

"Shhh, Brooke. Be quiet, be pretty. You're in good hands," Peyton promised as she led Brooke to her car.

After a quick drive, Brooke felt the car stop and the door open. She felt two pairs of hands lead her somewhere. Before she could even try to guess where she was, her blindfold was whipped off.

Brooke gasped as she looked at what was in front of her, "Oh my god, this is that new spa place!" she squealed as she realised where she was.

"The one and only." Haley interjected, "And you, Tigger, are going to be treated to a facial, mani and predi, massage and a quick tanning bed session before your big party tonight – all courtesy of your two best friends – and Nathan too because he said you're too hard to shop for." Haley explained in one breath.

"Also," Peyton pulled out a box and put it in front of her. Brooke opened it up, "It's from Mouth, Skillz, Fergy and the Rivercourt guys," she explained. Brooke looked at the Tiffany bracelet in front of her.

"I think I love you," Brooke gaped.

"We love you too, Brooke," Haley said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was talking about this bracelet," Brooke said as she continued looking at it, "Can I touch it?" she asked. Haley and Peyton laughed.

"Of course. It's yours," Brooke put it on her hand and sighed.

"Oh my god I forgot how nice Tiffany's felt on my wrist," she said before tears filled up in her eyes.

Peyton and Haley enveloped her into a big hug, "I'm going to miss you guys," she wailed.

"Well, we've still got a big day ahead so let's start getting you ready," Peyton said as the three girls went off to start their makeovers.

* * *

Nathan surveyed the big banner that he'd just helped put up. '_Bon Voyage Brooke!'_ was spelt out on the banner that was hung on the stage. He smiled proudly.

"Hey, Nathan, where do you want these balloons?" Mouth asked as he brought an array of balloons. Nathan pointed to several corners where they should be put up and Mouth obliged. Nathan's eye wandered to wear Lucas was sitting, pathetically trying to blow up a balloon. He sighed and went over to talk to his elder brother.

"You know, I'm sure that balloon would appreciate it if you stopped slobbering all over it," he said, "You've been blowing that same balloon up for ten minutes already,"

"Sorry," Lucas mumbled as he threw the balloon in a corner.

"What is up with you?" Nathan questioned, "You've been walking around all week as if someone ran over your dog,"

"Just leave me alone, Nathan," Lucas said as he got up. Nathan followed his brother.

"It's Brooke, isn't it?" Nathan asked. Lucas didn't reply, "I thought you were okay with her leaving,"

"Well, I'm not. I… I can't be okay with her leaving and I don't understand how everyone else is!"

"Luke, none of us want to see her go, but it's her choice. The least you can do is put a smile on your face and support her. Wasn't that all your idea anyway? To support her decision?" Nathan reminded him.

"I never actually thought she'd go. I mean, she loves it here, her friends are here, and her favourite lingerie store is here… why would she want to go?" Lucas asked no-one in particular. Nathan shrugged.

"You'll have to ask her,"

"I can't do that,"

"Then you have to let her go," Nathan told him. Lucas sighed, "Just tell her how you feel, man!" Nathan groaned.

"You think I should?" Nathan nodded.

"Dude, come on, we've all seen how you look at her. We know that you like her and I think that she might feel the same way too,"

"It's too soon," Lucas told him, "She's just getting over this Felix business and then maybe I'll-"

"It'll be too late by then, Luke. She's going to New Bern in a few days and what if she meets someone? You'll be out of the picture and you'll have missed your chance. Lucas, you messed up with her once – don't mess it up again. She deserves to know how you feel otherwise you'll be brooding for the next ever and we'll all have to deal with it," Nathan said pointedly.

"You really think I can change her mind?"

"If you don't try, we'll never know," Lucas nodded his head in understanding.

"Okay, so I'll tell her… when?"

"I don't know but sometime _before_ she leaves would be nice. Just don't leave it until she's about to get in the car, okay?" Nathan gave Lucas an encouraging squeeze on the shoulder and went off to make sure the room looked good enough for Brooke.

Lucas thought about what his brother had said and smiled slightly. Maybe there was some hope for him yet.

* * *

Brooke sighed happily as she ushered the last well-wisher out of the door. It was almost 3am and she was tired to say the least, but she still had a big smile on her face.

She looked around the room and spied her friends beginning to start clearing up.

"Friends," she announced, "now that my fabulous party is over – thank you all very much, by the way – I want to say a few words,"

Nathan, Haley, Peyton and Lucas looked at her intently as they waited for her speech.

"I know I've already made a speech earlier this evening but now I have my best friends here, I think that I need to make another one," she took in a deep breath, "I love you; Nate, P. Sawyer, Tutor Wife and Broody – I don't think I would have made it through these last few months without any of you. I'm really going to miss all of you so much, it's unbelievable. We've had so many great times and made so many memories and I'm grateful to you all for giving me that to take with me.

"Now, before I get all teary," she continued, "I just want to thank all of you for everything you've ever done for me and making Tree Hill a wonderful place to have spent my life," she wiped away a few stray tears and they all launched into a big group hug, with the girls sobbing.

Once they parted, Brooke, Haley and Peyton all looked at each other with their tear-stained faces and running mascara and laughed at each other.

"Come on Brooke, I'll drive you home," Peyton offered before she turned to the others, "You guys start clearing up and I'll be back soon,"

"Oh, let me help," Brooke said. The gang shook their heads furiously.

"No way, B. Davis. One, we know your version of clearing up means stuffing things under a rug, and two, you gotta go home and get some rest or we'll have to kill you," Peyton told her. Peyton went to go get their coats and Lucas nervously approached Brooke.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey, Lucas," she greeted.

"Look, um, I was wondering if you were busy tomorrow night,"

"If you're asking me out on a date, your timing really sucks. I leave Sunday morning!" Brooke reminded him.

"Uh, no… um, I just have some things I need to say to you and I'd rather tell you in private."

"Oh," Brooke said, "What kind of things?" she questioned, although the look on Lucas' face told her that he wasn't going to tell her in front of the others, "In that case, I'm working all tomorrow and helping my parents finish packing up the rest of our stuff. But I'm free in the evening,"

"That'd be great. I'll meet you at my mom's café around 7?" he suggested. Brooke nodded.

"I'll see you then," Brooke saw Peyton coming out of the cloakroom and took it as her cue to leave, "Well, I'd better get going. See you tomorrow, okay?" she said as she gave him a quick wave.

As she walked out of Tric, a feeling of uneasiness came over her and she felt sick. She hadn't been expecting Lucas to ask her to dinner and suddenly she was nervous about going.

"You okay, Brooke?" Peyton asked when she saw the look on her friend's face.

"I'm fine," Brooke told Peyton, "I think I'm just tired," Peyton hugged her and they walked to the car.

* * *

"Do you remember when you tore my doll's head off?" Brooke said in the car. They'd been parked outside Brooke's house for five minutes already, and had been reminiscing about their antics over the years. Peyton snorted.

"Only because you threw my He-Man action figure out of the window!" Peyton defended.

"You are a girl, Peyton! Girls shouldn't have action figures, they should have dolls. You were such a tomboy!"

"Hey! Those Barbie dolls were scary. Did you see those cones on her chest? For years I was scared of being a girl because I didn't want Madonna-like boobs,"

Brooke laughed, "Do you remember your mom giving us the sex talk?" Peyton groaned.

"God, that was so embarrassing."

"It was great. She gave us cookies, your mom made the best cookies,"

"She did, didn't she?" Peyton looked at Brooke, "Although she almost had a fit when she caught us trying make-up on,"

"That's because she didn't want you to chase the boys around, like I did,"

"My mom kept telling me you were a bad influence!"

"I was!" Brooke said, "I really loved your mom,"

"She loved you too," Peyton told Peyton truthfully. Brooke smiled.

"I'm really sorry about what happened to her. She was a great woman," Peyton nodded.

"Yeah, she was." There was a small silence while they remembered Peyton's mom.

"God, how long have we been friends now?" Brooke asked after some time.

"Oh, years. I think we were actually best friends from the womb too. My first memory is splashing in puddles with you,"

"Aw. Wow, this is so weird," Brooke said.

"What?"

"This. The finality of it all. I mean, I always thought we'd be saying this stuff in our graduation gowns, not… not now. It's too early – at least it feels that way," Peyton held Brooke's hand.

"We'll still be friends, okay? There is no way P. Sawyer can forget B. Davis. Remember that,"

"Hos over bros?" Brooke said holding out her fist. Peyton hit it with her own and they hugged, "Well, I'd better go. I'll see you soon. Are you going to be there on Sunday morning before I leave?"

Peyton nodded, "Goodnight, Brooke."

"'Night Sawyer!" Brooke called as she got out of the car and into her house.

* * *

Lucas waited patiently for Brooke to show up. It was finally Saturday night and he'd been plucking up the courage to tell Brooke how he really felt all day. He'd almost backed out several times but he realised that this was really his only time to tell her how she felt.

The café had been closed early and Lucas had called his mom to help him make a dinner for Brooke, and she was only too happy to oblige.

Finally, Brooke entered the café and was stunned to see only Lucas standing there with dinner in front of me.

"Sorry, I'm late, Lucas. Is this for me?" Brooke asked taking a seat. Lucas nodded, "Wow, you really went all out,"

"My mom helped. Just a little… goodbye gift, I guess," he said.

"This is really nice," she complimented, "Do you mind if I start? I'm kinda hungry, I think I forgot to eat lunch in between all the boxes," she said. Lucas nodded, "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

Lucas watched her as she ate a bite of food and then looked at him expectantly, "Uh, let's wait until after dinner," he suggested as nerves got the better of him. Brooke nodded and the two ate their dinner, talking quietly and laughing over some memories.

Sometime after dinner, they were still talking when 10 o'clock came by. Lucas noticed how late it was getting and knew Brooke would need to leave shortly. He noticed that they were holding hands across the table and wondered how long they'd been doing that.

"You okay, Lucas?" Brooke asked when she noted that he hadn't said anything for some time. Lucas looked up at her and realised that it was now or never.

"Stay," he blurted out before he could stop himself. Brooke frowned and looked at him.

"What?" she asked.

"Stay. Stay here in Tree Hill," he said again. Brooke pulled her hand away from his as if it was on fire.

"Lucas…" she began as she shook her head, "Don't… don't do this to me… not now. Not-"

"When then?" Lucas questioned, "When you're gone? Brooke, you leave tomorrow! Now is a good a reason as any to ask you to change your mind. You can still stay,"

"I can't, Lucas," Brooke told him.

"How about if you stayed here for me?" he tried

"Lucas... don't start this. You can't make me stay here by using my feelings for you as bait. It's not fair, and I can't do that, Lucas," she told him again.

"Why not?"

"Well... for a million reasons."

"I'm just asking for one"

"Because I can't have my heart broken by you again," she said before she could stop herself, "because it's so damn unfair that you have to drop this on me the _night_ before I leave. You're supposed to be supporting me, okay? I need to leave this place. Start a new life. Isn't that why you ran off to Charleston?"

"I left because I'd screwed things up between you and Peyton. At that point, you both hated me and I hated myself for what I did,"

"Whatever," Brooke told him, "That's still no justification for what you're trying to do,"

"Brooke, over the last few weeks, I've realised that I've fallen in love with you all over again,"

"Like you did before?" Brooke scoffed, although she didn't want to open this particular can of worms, she felt she had no choice, "Tell me, did you love me when you were cheating on me with my best friend?"

"That was a mistake, Brooke! Listen, I really am sorry for what happened months ago but now I'm telling you now that I don't want to lose you again. I can't let you go without telling you how I feel,"

"Well, you've told me how you feel but it doesn't change a thing. I'm still leaving," she got up from her seat.

"Brooke..." Lucas tried again but it was too late.

"I'm sorry, Lucas, but you missed your chance," she told him finally before leaving the café, and leaving a broken-hearted Lucas behind.

**To Be Continued…**


	11. Goodbye

**A/N:** Okay, this is the last official chapter but there will be an epilogue that follows.

**Chapter 11: Goodbye**

Brooke shut the door of her baby blue VW Beetle and sighed. That was the last of it. Her belongings from her life in Tree Hill were either boxed or packed into every available space in the moving vans and her car, or they had been sold three days previously. She couldn't believe that almost 17 years of property had been so easily put away.

Brooke glanced at the big, white house with the red door, with the large yard and the swimming pool in the back garden. She had been so used to seeing it so full or furniture, clothes and… life, that the last few days had made her feel stranger to her own home now that it was empty.

She smiled at how big the house was. It was the pride of Tree Hill and she had always been pleased to be the privileged girl growing up with everything and anything she wanted. But now she was paying the price for having a luxurious life.

Part of her was angry at her parents for losing the money in the first place and not preparing her for the real world. But another part was relieved that she now had a chance to be like everyone else. To be the girl who had to work for what she wanted instead of just being able to get it. To have so much money available that all she could find to do with it was spend it on alcohol or a new wardrobe.

Fortunately, before the maids had been fired, they'd taught Brooke how to use a washing machine and how to clean the house, so she was equipped with the basic skills. She knew her mother had trained to be a chef before she married into the Davis family, and so she could learn how to cook from her mother. But it would have to be done in New Bern and not Tree Hill.

After her disastrous dinner with Lucas the night before, Brooke had gone straight home and, still angry, had spent all night writing a list on how much she hated Lucas and the pros of leaving Tree Hill. She still had the pieces of paper in her pocket, but couldn't bring herself to throw it away yet.

"Brooke," came a voice from down the street. She turned around to see Peyton, Nathan and Haley making their way to her former house. She hugged them all.

"Wow," Peyton breathed, "Is that all your stuff?" she said observing the two moving vans that were almost full and all the belongings stuffed into Brooke's car. She nodded.

"All the stuff that hasn't been sold anyway,"

"When do you leave?" Haley asked.

"Oh, when the moving men lock up the vans and my parents are ready. It's not long now," Brooke said rubbing her hands together in both excitement and anxiousness.

"Lucas better get here quick or he'll miss you," Peyton mused out loud, making Brooke blush.

"Yeah, well, I left a dozen messages on his phone but he hasn't picked up." Haley said to Peyton, "If he doesn't turn up, I'm going to kill him!"

"You know what? Who cares about Lucas?" Brooke interjected, her outburst shocking both Haley and Peyton. Nathan, who took it as a sign Lucas and Brooke's talk hadn't gone well the previous night, asked the two girls to go make sure Brooke hadn't left anything. When they left, Nathan turned to Brooke who'd crossed her arms around her chest.

"He told you, didn't he?" Nathan said.

"You knew?" Brooke asked.

"I told him to do it."

"Why?" Brooke was now angry at Nathan for his involvement.

"Because he cares about you. Because it's killing him to watch you go. We're all sad you're leaving but Lucas took it badly because he'd only just made up with you. Your friendship means a lot to him."

"So?"

"So? So he loves you. And he told you that and you're still leaving,"

"He can't honestly expect me to just stop my plans because he's just realised he wants me? I can't keep my life in Tree Hill for him. What if he cheats on me again?"

"Brooke…"

"No, Nathan. He obviously doesn't love me enough if he's not even here to say goodbye to me? Or at least stop me again?"

"If he was here, would you stay?"

"I don't know. The fact is he hasn't tried, which means that his feelings for me aren't that strong and I can't stay here for that."

"So, that's it? You're just going to walk away knowing that you could have had another chance with Lucas?"

"I don't need another chance with Lucas. He lost his and he's just got to deal with that," Brooke said, spying Peyton and Haley returning from her house, "So did I forget anything?" she asked them, purposely ignoring anything Nathan was going to say.

"Nope, all clear," Peyton said before looking between the two.

"It's fine. Just discussing something unimportant," Brooke said casting a glance at Nathan.

"Brooke, honey!" Her dad called, "It's time to go,"

Brooke nodded and sighed deeply.

"This is it," she said, "I'm going to miss you so much," she said to the gang before she hugged them again all individually.

"Keep in touch," Peyton told her, "And there's always a room for you with me whenever you want t come visit," she added. Brooke nodded.

"See you soon, bimbo," she said.

"Later, ho," Peyton replied as they both struggled to keep their tears at bay. They didn't want to see each other cry.

"Bye Tutor Wife," Brooke said to Haley as she hugged her, "When you tour, I want front row tickets, okay?"

"Sure, Tigger. Drive safe,"

"Goodbye Nate," Brooke said, "Take care of Tutor Wife for me," Nathan nodded and hugged her.

Brooke looked at them all before opening the car door and climbing inside. Her parents' car started their engine and gave her the signal that they were about to leave and Brooke followed suit.

"See ya," she called to her friends as her parents' car started driving off.

They all waved back as they watched Brooke's car start following and eventually drive off. They stood watching until they could no longer see the moving vans in the distance.

Nathan put his arms around his wife and Peyton and consoled them while they contemplated the loss of their friend.

"I can't believe she actually left," Haley said, "It seemed like she still had a chance to stay,"

"Yeah. How come Lucas didn't show?" Peyton asked Nathan.

"Why are you asking me?" Nathan said.

"Because you both looked like you were having an argument about something. And I'm sure it's no coincidence that Lucas didn't show up. What happened?" Nathan shrugged.

"I'm going to go find that out myself. I'll see you both later, okay?" he said as he took his keys and left. Haley and Peyton looked at each other.

"Feel like some ice cream and a sad movie?" Peyton suggested. Haley nodded.

* * *

Nathan pulled up to the kerb of the Rivercourt and saw a familiar figure sitting on the bench, looking out at the river.

"Hey Lucas!" Nathan said as he sat next to him.

"Is she gone?" Lucas questioned. Nathan nodded.

"She seemed pretty angry at you. I take it she didn't like what you said to her?"

"I screwed up, Nate. Really bad,"

"Maybe it was just timing,"

"No. I mean I screwed up everything. The Peyton thing, Felix, Charleston… everything. If I hadn't been so damn selfish, she could have been here now. Not… not on her way to New Bern,"

"Stop being so hard on yourself, man. I guess you both weren't meant to be,"

"That's exactly it. We were. I know we were. You know that feeling you get when you're in love? That it hurts so much to be around them, but when you're not around them – you just want to be?" Nathan nodded, thinking of Haley, "I want her, Nathan. I want her here. Now. I want to see her smile, hear her laughing. I just want to know that she's happy. I didn't want her to leave angry with me. I didn't want to drive her away but I did."

Nathan put his arm around his older brother to comfort him, but he didn't know what much to say.

"I just want her back," Lucas sighed as the two brothers sat next to each other in silence, staring out at the river.

Brooke, meanwhile, looked out of the window, approaching a sign.

'_Now leaving Tree Hill. We hope you come back soon!'_

**To Be Continued…**


	12. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

It had been a long two weeks since Brooke had left for New Bern. She'd been in contact with Peyton a few times but the phone calls and emails were becoming a little less frequent.

Peyton had started to hang out more with Haley and Nathan, who had put their marital problems way behind them and were happier than ever.

However, all three of them had had problems with Lucas. Ever since Brooke left, he was becoming more and more distant. Nathan had repeatedly tried to get him to come and play at the Rivercourt with the guys, but he preferred to stay at home. All attempts to bring him out to have fun at Tric proved futile as he was clearly still pining over Brooke.

Even Karen was beginning to worry about her only son, who spent more time in bed than with a basketball.

This particular Saturday morning, Lucas was still in bed at eleven thirty, and just waking from his slumber. Upon hearing a faint voice, he gradually awoke.

"Mom," he said sleepily as he pulled his covers over his head, "Go away! I told you I don't want to get up."

But he heard the voice again and he groaned loudly, "I said 'go away' Mom!"

"I'm not your mom," came the amused reply. Lucas sat up in bed and looked at the person sitting at his desk.

"Brooke?" he said rubbing sleep from his eyes to make sure he wasn't dreaming. She smiled.

"_Number 23:_ Lucas is an ass. _Number 24:_ Felix is an ass," she said reading from a piece of paper, "_number 25:_ I live next door to Felix,"

"What are you doing here? Aren't you in New Bern? And what are you reading from?" Lucas asked a barrage of questions.

"Easy, Broody," she said, "All will be answered," she moved from the desk and sat on the end of his bed.

She thrust the piece of paper in his face, "This," she began, "is a list I made on why I should leave Tree Hill," she told him. Lucas looked at it.

"How came half of these are 'Lucas is an ass'?" he questioned.

"Because you are," she told him matter-of-factly, "But I guess that's why I came back. I was looking at this list a few days ago and I realized that I made a huge mistake. I kind of overreacted when you asked me to stay,"

"I thought you had some good points. I was an ass and I should have supported your decision," Brooke hit him, "ow! That was for?"

"For not telling me that earlier!" she sighed as she slid into bed next to him, forcing him to move up, "A few nights ago, my parents came into my room and asked me why I was unhappy. And I told them that it was because… because I missed Tree Hill. It's not like I hated New Bern, I just missed everything about Tree Hill – even Tim! And they told me that I had to make a choice. Either stay in New Bern or go to Tree Hill. So I packed up my things and here I am," she explained all in one breath.

"For how long?" Lucas asked.

"Until graduation. I called Peyton on the way here and she said I could stay at her house,"

"Peyton knew!" Lucas cried. Brooke nodded.

"I asked her to keep it a secret. I haven't seen her yet, I came here first. Your mom told me about how you've been lately and let me wait in your room. You took a while to wake up,"

"How long did you wait?"

"About a half hour. You snore," she giggled. Lucas groaned in embarrassment, "Lucas, I'm sorry about the way I left," she apologized, "You took me by surprise and I didn't want anyone to make my decision harder. I mean, I was accepting the fact I was leaving but when you came down with that bombshell, you just made it a hundred times harder and I couldn't take it,"

"I'm sorry too, I should have supported you,"

"I'm kind of glad you didn't. I wouldn't be here if not," she said.

"So… what are your plans?"

"Well, first I have to see Peyton and everyone. Then I have to beg to be allowed back to Tree Hill High, try and persuade Peyton to let me to Cheer Captain again and… return all my gifts," she sighed at the last one, "I kind of put myself into a bit of a mess,"

"Don't worry about it. The most important thing is that you're here," Lucas told her.

"Lucas… I came back for a lot of reasons. The most important one was you. And I don't want to regret that decision. If you really care about me, then you have to make sure you don't screw this one up because otherwise I'll be really mad. I've given up a lot to be here," she said to him.

Lucas took her hand and kissed her lightly on the lips, "I promise I won't screw this up," he told her. She gave him a dimpled smile in return. "So," he said, "what do you want to do today?"

She thought for a moment, "Let's just stay in bed for a while. It's still early," she grinned as she wrapped herself in her arms.

Lucas smiled contently as he listened to Brooke tell him about the last two weeks and about New Bern and her parents' house. He didn't want to screw this up now that they were finally happy. They'd been through infidelities, an abusive ex-boyfriend and a brief separation but they'd finally found their way back to one another. He'd seen what life was without her in his life and this time he wasn't going to let her go again.

**The End**

**Author's Note: **

I would like to take this opportunity to thank every single person that has reviewed over the last five months. I would name all of you individually but I'd be here for a while g.

This began as a speculation fic just before '_The Trick Is To Keep Breathing'_, and escalated into something that I really am sad to leave. This fic kept me sane when everything around me really wasn't and I have all of you to thank for that. I sincerely hope that you've enjoyed reading this fic and look out for my new one that's coming soon, and check out _A Change Of Fortune_ too.

Thank you once again.

Tejal x


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